Behind His Eyes
by ChipSticks
Summary: They say the eyes are the windows to the soul but all anyone could see was a blank, icy cold stare back at them. Why is it that Gabriella Montez could find something more when no one else did? Why does he want to let her in when she's his enemy?
1. Chapter 1

**Behind His Eyes **

_Summary: They say the eyes are the windows to the soul but all anyone could see was a blank, icy cold stare back at them. Why is it that Gabriella Montez could find something more when no one else did? Even if she does hate working for that person that is so emotionless. _

_A.N. Hello, everybody! My name is Rachael and this is my first fanfiction story so I have no idea how this is going to turn out. My only hope is that you all enjoy it and want to read more. Please, once you've finished (if you get that far) can you please review? I'm not going to deny that I probably won't update if I don't get enough reviews but please, don't pretend to like it. I'm up for constructive criticism, please, don't be scared. Thank you and Merry Christmas. :D_

**Chapter 1 – Off To A Bad Start**

He was considered to be an angel with his perfect, immaculate hair that was a beautiful dark brown that almost demands to have your hands run through it, his tanned and muscular body that was silky smooth against anyones touch, those lips that spoke so softly and tenderly yet it had its own roughness and edge. Then those words he spoke were so eloquent, so charming, so _perfect_ that you would happily believe everything he would say but what stood out the most, anyone who had ever met him would tell you, was his eyes, his breath-takingly, beautiful, blue eyes that had a hypnotic quality you just couldn't resist and not get pulled into. As long as you were staring into those wonderful orbs, the world seemed okay. You felt as if _you_ would be okay and that suited many women across the city of New York, even if he only intended to stay for a couple of hours or so, that was acceptable because they got the experience and they got the _chance_ to be with him. They were the ones to be chosen by him and they had him above them, taking them all to ecstasy. But then again, they were just another woman to add on to his ever growing list. They _weren't_ special, he had done this time and time again with plenty of pretty women that caught his attention whether it be a women at a club in the early hours of the morning or an unhappy mother of four who felt neglected by her husband; either way, they _weren't_ memorable, they were merely another one who fell under the charm of Troy Bolton.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" The innocent voice called out, the white sheet wrapped round her pale, naked body and her small hands self-consciously hugging herself as she watched the beauty stand up to pull on his clothes. "I can make you breakfast...or coffee?" Her attempts to keep him with her were futile, she knew that herself but she wanted to try, she felt special with him although, in reality, she was mediocre to him. Secretly, and she would never admit it out loud, she knew that she couldn't change him, despite how much she wanted to, she knew she couldn't. "Will I see you again? Maybe we could go out for lunch some time? I know this great place just around the corner, it's called-"

"No lunch." A simple comment that stung the poor girls heart tremendously. His voice wasn't like the warm, gentle one the girl had become familiar with that evening, it was cold and emotionless, one that sent discomforting shivers down her spine. "There will be no need for us to meet again. We've had our fun, this was merely a one time thing, I doubt we'll ever come into contact once more and if we do, then we'll never be in this position again."

"Are you sure I can't-"

"No." He snapped harshly, causing the girl to jump and she felt her hands tremble with fear as she looked into those blue eyes that were turning into a dark, storm cloud. "Like I said, there will be no need." And with that, he walked out stiffly, nodding his head curtly before slamming the door behind, leaving a broken hearted girl to weep alone, naked on her bed. Although he didn't care, why should he? He had had plenty of practice in these situations, the girl was a pretty face and nothing more to him. What was there for him to make him stay? _Nothing_. He thought gruffly in his head, taking in a breath of fresh air as he stepped out from the apartment block.

The cool air ruffled his hair slightly and the corner of Troy's mouth turned up in a slight smile, letting his eyes flutter shut as fresh air hit his nostrils and flew around his body. He enjoyed this, the quiet and the peaceful tranquility that was so rare and unfamiliar to New York City that when the opportunity arose, Troy would happily jump up and grab it with both hands. It was December and the cold chill had already fallen upon the city. There wasn't any snow, at least not yet, but Troy knew it would come just like it did every year and he would welcome it fully with open arms. If only Troy would welcome other things with open arms. The best part about winter, for Troy, was that it suited his personality the most. Winter- cold. Troy- _even_ colder. Not many people knew the true reasons behind his lack of emotion, no one brought the subject up and no one asked because everyone feared Troy's reaction, if there was one thing to know about Troy Bolton, it would be that he could be _extremely_ scary when anger erupted through his body. Troy Bolton was not one to be messed with.

Turning to his right, Troy re-opened his eyes and strided down the pavement, aware that ice was now creeping it's way on the ground. Wrapping his coat further round his body, he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and carried on, noting that the Sun was just beginning to rise and the further he walked down the pavement, the more cars and shouts he could hear. Even in the early hours of a cold, December morning, New York was alive. Maybe that was why Troy liked the city. It was so full of life, it juxtaposed his personality, almost balancing out the equation. To Troy, this made sense to live somewhere that contrasted so well with himself, why should he fit in with everyone else? What good would that do? How would he be memorable if he was just like everyone else? And it worked because Troy _was_ memorable. He was the nephew of Julia Matte, his father's younger sister who married at a young age to a wealthy man named Matthew Matte. Matthew owned his own advertising business whilst Julia was the founder and editor-in-chief of _Matte Magazine_. Which was what Troy had ended up in himself. Julia was often away and, at the time, Troy needed a job, she offered him the position to be her partner, the co-editor-in-chief. Troy had taken the chance immediately, despite the other work colleges whining because he hadn't done any work but gone straight to the top. He won over all the staff in three days.

Right now, his aunt was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was visiting Troy's father, Jack Bolton with her husband and two daughters, Anna and Harriet. They were two very stuck-up little girls, depending on their parents for everything when they were in New York but Albuquerque was different and when they were away from people they knew, they were the sweetest angels, something which confused Troy to no end, although he would never show it. He hadn't been back to his hometown for five years, he hadn't seen his father for that long either. As soon as he graduated from East High, Troy had boarded a plane and arrived in New York, his friends following six months later. Lifting his hand in the air, Troy called down a taxi and ordered the driver to take him to his house. Sighing, Troy remembered the unpleasant conversation he had encountered with his father, the last encounter he had had with his father for many years...

_15th June 2004, Albuquerque, New Mexico_

"_Troy! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The sound of his father's voice echoed around the house as he followed, Troy around with a red face and an irritated growl, "what do you mean you're going?" _

"_Exactly that, Jack." Troy replied, clenching his teeth together as he heard his father's footsteps still very close behind him, "I'm going to New York, I can't stay here anymore." _

"_What do you mean by that? What about Chad and Sharpay?" Jack asked, confusion clearly evident in his voice and if Troy had really listened, he would have heard the strain too, the hurt that was layering his tone that had become so quiet, it was almost inaudible. "You're just leaving them?" _

"_No, they're going to visit." Troy answered sharply, "and, besides, Sharpay's going to New York anyway for college and Chad was thinking about it himself. I'm not surprised if we all end up living together, Jack so I'm not leaving anyone behind." Again, if Troy had bothered to face his father whilst speaking, he would have noticed Jack wince at his last statement. "I'm leaving and there is nothing to hold me back." _

"_What about basketball!" Jack sprang towards Troy, a tone of hope as he spoke, "it's your dream! You've been offered a place at U of A, you can follow through with that, do what you've always wanted to-" _

"_No!" Troy bellowed, finally facing Jack but with fury in his, otherwise, cool eyes and his teeth gritted so tightly together that they looked like they could crumble at any moment. "That has never been my dream, that has always been your dream. Ever since you busted your knee and I was born, you wanted to make your aspirations of being a NBA basketball star through me. Well it may have worked when I was eight and copied everyone around me but it won't work now that I'm eighteen. I've had enough of being told what to do. I will not live my life the way you want it to." _

"_Troy, I thought you wanted what I had wanted." Jack gulped, fearing what his son might do to him, noting down that Troy's hands were in tight fists, his knuckles turning white. In this state, Troy was unpredictable and this scared Jack, "I thought you loved basketball as much as I did." _

"_Well, I don't." Troy tore his eyes away from Jack and continued to pack, moving around his room and picking various clothing up before chucking it in his bag, "I just want to get out of here." _

"_Please, Troy, don't do this." His father pleaded. "Please." _

"_Shut up! Just shut up!" Troy shouted angrily, not bothering to turn to Jack this time. "Why can't you get it through your thick, stupid head, I'm not coming back! I will never fucking come back!" _

"_Troy, you can't...you..."_

"_I can do whatever the fuck I like." Troy argued, "I'm eighteen now, and if I want to go to New York, then I will." _

_  
"But...you have no where to live!" _

"_Aunt Julia is taking me in." Troy answered sharply. "She's going to help me find an apartment." _

"_With what money?" _

"_I've been saving up, Jack." Troy shot back, "and I'll get a job when I go over there." _

"_But you haven't been to college! How can you get a job if you don't go to college?" _

"_You don't always need to go to college to get a job." Troy rolled his eyes, letting out an irritated and frustrated sigh, "anyway, I got good grades. It'll be easy." _

"_Troy-" _

_  
"Don't bother." _

"_Why?" His father's voice was quiet and when Troy looked back at him, Jack's eyes were watering and looked vulnerable, in pain but Troy was too ignorant to care, to even notice the hurt that his father was feeling. However, Troy did notice that Jack was resembling a small child. His hands were clasped together and were fiddling around, he looked small, a complete juxtaposition to what he really was as a six foot one, tall man. Then as his eyes clouded over with more tears, one finally trailing down his face, Troy turned away, ignoring his feelings and continued to shove more clothes in the holdall. _

"_Because...I want to. I can't stay here any longer." _

"_But, why? Is it because of-" _

"_Don't say it!" Troy yelled, running a hand through his hair, the silence that followed being tense and uncomfortable. "You know now that you don't mention it!" _

"_I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I forgot for a moment." Jack apologized quickly, wiping away a few tears, "but please, just stay, there is no need to leave. If you don't want to do basketball, then that's fine, I'll help you get a job. You can stay here, you don't need to go all the way to New York to do that!" _

"_No, I don't." Troy agreed before turning sour, "but it's a place I can go where I never have to speak to you again. Don't visit me, you'll only be left disappointed." The choke from his father was noted down but pushed aside as Troy shook his head, pushing past Jack, he skipped a few steps and walked out the front door, opening his car and chucking his belongings inside, however his father wasn't finished and ran out to try stop him once more. _

"_Troy, just stay. Please, we'll work things out, we'll be like we were, like father and son again. Please, just stay for me." _

"_No. Albuquerque holds nothing for me anymore." _

_Present Day, Manhattan, New York._

Walking into his home, Troy shivered as he remembered those last words and they had been the _very_ last words, Troy had said to his father for many years. Every call, letter and email that Jack sent, Troy had ignored and, either, chucked them away, hung up the phone or deleted as soon as he realised who it was from. He had erased every memory of his father, the only thing he couldn't delete was that last one, the last time they had seen or spoke to each other. Troy wasn't sure why he wasn't able to erase it, he didn't even know why the memory had suddenly cropped up but it certainly did not send a pleasant feeling through his body. He felt his throat close up with guilt but in the blink of an eye, that emotion disappeared and his lips pursed together tightly, just like he always did unless it was anger and he began cursing himself for letting that emotion slip through. When he let out a heavy sigh, Troy's eyes closed shut and he quickly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

~*~

"_Push_!" A loud voice commanded, the strain in his voice evident as they tried pushing a large, and heavy, board to Troy's office on a cold, Monday morning. It wasn't that the hallways were too thin, in fact, they were elongated and it wasn't because the lift was too small, they were big enough for over twenty people but the weight of the board was almost too much to handle. The acrylic paint weighing most of it and the sheer size of it was making it difficult enough.

"We _are_ pushing!" A shriek called back with irritation, using all her strength in pushing it down the corridor. Another moan was heard and the blonde took a deep breath before attempting to push it further forward. "_You_ need to push _harder_."

"_Me_? Don't go putting the blame on me." He replied in anger, his face contorted with frustration. "If you just took your bloody shoes off then maybe this would be easier, and anyway, it's me and Tay that are doing all the work!"

"Oh, of course it is," the blonde answered back sarcastically, "and I'm not an idiot, if I left my shoes lying around then someone is sure to take them!" She barked before turning on her back and attempting to push it again, whilst muttering, "jackass."

"What did you just call me, _Barbie_?" He bellowed, letting go of the board, as did Sharpay leaving Taylor to watch the scene unfold with a wince.

"Oh, I think you heard me, lunkhead." Sharpay spat, her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised. The grip of the board rebelling against Taylor's hands but the pair ignored her and continued to argue. "You are a jackass, Chad Danforth and I have no idea how in the world you managed to get Taylor."

"Er...guys, little help?"

"Well if I'm a jackass then what the hell does that make you?" Chad protested, pointing at Sharpay accusingly, "you are such a dumb blonde, Sharpay. I'm surprised you graduated, let alone get into college. Of course, we know Troy was the one that got you this job, least I got here because I have talent."

"Talent?" Sharpay scoffed, "is that what you call it? Being a sports writer...yeah must be really difficult to get free tickets to see different sporting matches, that must be awful for you, Chad." She added sarcastically and Chad sneered at the blonde in front of him. "You couldn't do a day's _proper_ work, even if you tried."

"Please, can you stop fighting? This is going to topple over on it's side if yo-"

"Oh, please!" Chad folded his arms across his chest, "your job doesn't exactly consist of much brain work, does it."

"What are you talking about?" Sharpay glared at him with offense, "I have to design all the new clothes and make them. I have a very important job here, just because yours is useless doesn't mean mine is."

"Guys!" Taylor bellowed, snapping them out from their bubble to face her, "quit fighting and help me. My fingers are about to break!" She exclaimed with a strain, the board slowly tilting over to one side due to it's strange shape.

"Sorry, baby." Chad rushed to her side, taking his place under the board again. "Come on...Barbie." He added, already panting as they tried to steady it and push it all at the same time. "You need to help as well, don't think you're getting out of this one because, trust me, I won't let that happen."

"Whatever, jackass."

"Just help, Sharpay!" Taylor groaned, feeling beads of sweat gather on her forehead, "please, it really is beginning to hurt now and we need another person. It's a three man job."

"Okay, I'm coming." Sharpay sighed and the three got back to straining themselves over the large plastic, painted board in front of them. "Why does Troy need this?"

"I have no idea." Taylor replied breathlessly. "I was just told that it needed to go to Troy Bolton's office...how far till we reach his office?"

"Just a few more pushes."

Once they had reached Troy's office, they looked at the board as if they had made it themselves and mentally congratulated each other as they stood back with their arms crossed, trying to regain their breath once more. Taylor wiped her face with the back of her hand whilst Sharpay grabbed a tissue off Troy's assistants desk, without asking, and dabbed at her face whilst Chad just had his arms folded, grinning proudly. Although, just as they were about to leave, Troy came to his office and stopped suddenly, tilting his head and looking up and down the board.

"What is that?" He asked slowly, pointing his finger at the piece before looking between his three best and closest friends.

"I have no idea, I was going to ask you the same question." Chad replied, too staring at the plastic, stepping back to get it all in his vision. "It looks like...a multi-coloured iceberg."

"It's something to do with the front cover for next month, Troy." Taylor informed with a sigh, rolling her eyes at the pair. "It's for the party. You know the tenth anniversary of _Matte_. They wanted all these things up as some sort of decoration...at least I presume that is what they're for."

"Oh, right, of course." Troy mumbled, looking back down at his papers and walking into his office whilst saying to the other three, "well I don't want it up here, take it to the art department."

~*~

"Excuse _you_." A voice, that Troy considered to be soft, spoke out angrily and he knew he had barged into someone too hard as he was focused on his phone, not where he was going. Rolling his eyes, he turned around, expecting to see a glare in his direction and yet all he saw was a beautiful women on the floor, mumbling to herself. She had long, curly, dark brown hair that blew around slightly as the wind picked up now and then. She was wrapped up warm with black coat and white scarf but her face looked slightly flustered from the cold as Troy noticed her cheeks were looking pinker than they probably would normally be. The women was struggling to pick up her belongings, which were now scattered all over the pavement where people simply ignored her, stepping over her and carrying on. Although the words she was muttering were incoherent, Troy knew they were probably curses on him and the people around them. Narrowing his eyes, he realised that she really was quite stunning with her smooth, perfect complexion and dark chocolate eyes that seemed to show her emotions, right now, they were almost black with anger and this...amused Troy in some way. Sighing, he walked back but instead of helping, like a gentlemen would do, he just stood there, watching her. Finally acknowledging his presence, the women looked up, starting from his shoes and going up to his face. "What do you want?" She asked with frustration. "Come here to knock me over, now?"

"No." Troy snapped, growling slightly at her comment. "I just came here to see if you're alright."

"Really? I highly doubt that considering you're the one that pushed me over." The brunette spat back and Troy could tell, although she wasn't looking at him but actually at the floor, she had her teeth clenched tightly together to stop her from saying something worse than that. "And if you really wanted to see if I was alright, you would have helped me pick my stuff up, but you haven't done that have you? So, you might as well run along and push other women to the floor."

"Fine, I'll do that." Troy replied, almost in a childish manner and turned around, stomping off like a five year old who was sent to his room before dinner ignoring the scoff that the women gave him. "Fucking bitch." He muttered under his breath but not quiet enough as a mother shot him a nasty look whilst placing her hands over her daughter's ears. Troy merely rolled his eyes and moved on, wanting to get into his office as soon as possible where it was warm and he wouldn't be around so many people. By the time he did reach his office, Sharpay was standing there with a very unamused expression on her face. "What's happened now, Shar?" Troy asked with an exasperated sigh.

"That fucking asshole, Danforth, that's what's happened!" She shrieked, and hobbled after Troy into his office, not bothering to shut his door. "He snapped my heel. My birthday present from my father and he broke my heel!"

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you can say?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Fire him."

"What?"

"You heard." Sharpay said sternly, her arms firmly folded across her chest, her hip popped out and an expectant expression on her face as Troy stared at her with, what you could only guess was, confusion which only heightened and Sharpay added casually,"I want you to fire the bastard and give him an awful review so he can't get a job anywhere else."

"Shar, Chad is my best friend." Troy replied slowly, "I will not fire him."

"But he's an idiot!" Sharpay screamed, "you know we never get along and I'm more of a valuable asset to this magazine. If you don't get rid of him now, Troy then this whole place will be in deep, _deep_ shit. You and I both know that Chad could single handedly take down this company in less than an hour. Less than an _hour_, Troy!"

"Chad is far from an idiot despite what you may think." Troy sighed, rubbing his temples where a headache was beginning to form, "I am not going to fire him because, believe it or not Sharpay, we need him. He's the best sports writer this magazine has and people love his columns."

"But it's a sports page in _Matte Magazine_, one of America's top _fashion_ magazines!" Sharpay exclaimed, stomping her foot slightly and pouting with irritation. "What the hell does sport have to do with fashion?"

"It was what I wanted to bring to the magazine." Troy answered smoothly. "This way we have a wider variety of customers. Statistics show that much more men are reading the magazine for Chad's sports reviews and women find him...charming."

"_Charming_!" Sharpay shouted incredulously, scoffing before adding, "that _pig_ is far from charming. He needs a good shove out of this-"

"Sharpay, I am not firing Chad, end of."

"Fine." She huffed, admitting defeat, "but on one condition."

"And what is that?"

"I get to take whatever pair of shoes, out of my department, that I wish."

"I-"

"It's only fair, Troy!" Sharpay held up her hand to silence him, "Chad broke my heel, you won't fire him, it's the very least you can do."

"Whatever, do what you like." Troy rolled his eyes, rubbing his hands on his face as if to wake him up. Surprisingly, that small, pathetic argument Troy had had with that brunette women had taken a lot of energy out of him and he felt like a large snack or a short nap, either way, he needed recharging. Hearing Sharpay squeal with delight, he let his head rest on the table, his eyes fluttering shut however they tried fighting to stay awake. _Bloody brunette bitch._ He thought to himself, not being able to get her from his mind and yet whenever he was thinking about her, he was making himself angry. _She_ was making him angry and he didn't even know her name. His peace, if you could really call his mind peace, was disturbed as the phone rang shrilly, ringing around Troy's office and through his ears. Lifting up his head, he held the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Mr. Bolton, your aunt is on line two for you."_ The voice of his assistant was heard, _"she said she needs to talk to you urgently." _

"Oh yes, of course, thank you Erin." Troy mumbled, pressing a couple of buttons on his phone and hearing a click before saying, "hello?"

"_Hello, Troy!"_ The cheery voice of Julia Matte was heard and Troy sat up further in his chair, he had always loved his aunt, ever since a young age, she had always been the closest to him after the incident that Troy never spoke about. _"How are you?" _

"Hi, Julia," Troy replied, "I'm fine, a little bit tired but fine nonetheless."

_"Good, good, well I just wanted to inform you of some business."_

"Really? And what might that be? Because the final plans for the party have just been sent off, it's not about that, is it?"

"_No, no, that's all okay. Thank you for sorting that all out, Troy, I never had the chance to say so."_ Julia answered happily, _"but it's not about that, it's about Frank, you know the photographer?" _

"Oh, yes." Troy responded, sighing irritatedly as he remembered the photographer Frank who didn't have any input in the magazine, he always had the same ideas and always took pictures of models in the similar outfits and made them pose in practically the same ways. It had been a pleasure to fire him the month before, his last days working for _Matte_ were drawing near, if Troy remembered correctly, it was that Friday that would be his last. "What about him?"

"_Well, I know that this week is his last week." _Julia explained, _"and so we obviously needed a new photographer. I've already hired someone, she's a daughter of a very good friend of mine." _

"Is she good enough?"

"_Oh, she is more than good enough, her pictures are beautiful and I have no doubt that she'll be able to make this magazine more eye-catching with her pictures than ever before. This will be her first job here but she's got a lot of experience of taking photos, she's won numerous amount of awards here in Albuquerque and she won a full scholarship to her university in New York. She graduated with honors, her work is really breath-taking, she'll be starting on Monday." _

"Good, I completely forgot about Frank leaving until now."

"_Well, good riddance to him, I say."_ Troy smirked at her response, _"but anyway, I invited her to the party, I want you to introduce yourself, make her feel welcome considering this is her first job and all." _

"Are you sure it's a good idea to hire someone with such little experience in a work place?"

"_Trust me, I'll fax over some of her photos, she really is amazing, just what we need." _

"If you're sure."

"_I'm positive, Troy, I really am."_ Julia replied brightly. _"Anyway, I must go, we're going out to eat, speak to you later, bye."_ They both hung up and Troy let out a puff of air. _She better be good. _He thought to himself, being the co-editor-in-chief, Troy had to hold up his reputation and if this girl wasn't good then she wasn't going to last at _Matte_.

Troy was going to make sure of that.

~*~

"And how do you feel about that?"

"Ryan, I'm your best friend not one of your clients." Gabriella told him before sighing, "but I feel pretty annoyed. I mean, he just stood there pretending as if he cared when I bet you he didn't give a damn about knocking me over."

"Well, he did say he cared." Ryan replied, taking two glasses out of his cupboard and pouring some wine carefully into them whilst Gabriella collapsed on his sofa, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, "maybe he really did."

"One: he didn't _ever_ say he cared, he said he wanted to know if I was alright," Gabriella held a finger up, listing them off, "two: he obviously didn't care because he just stood there and didn't help me and three: he was the one that pushed me over in the first place!"

"Gabs, it's an honest mistake to knock into someone in New York." Ryan answered, handing her a glass of wine which she gladly took, gulping down half the glass, much to Ryan's amusement. "I do it all the time, you probably just pissed off the guy because you were annoyed with him and he didn't see it as his fault. Over half the people in New York just carry on walking despite knowing someone's been pushed over but he didn't, least he walked back. Did anyone else stop to see if you were okay?"

"No."

"Exactly, but this man clearly wanted to see if you were okay so he stopped." Ryan responded, taking a sip of his own wine, "you know I'm talking sense, Gabby."

"But Ryan, you didn't see this guy," Gabriella whined after a moment of silence, "there was something about him, he seemed so...cocky and arrogant. Trust me, when I saw him, he looked...emotionless. He just didn't care."

"Don't come up with that, 'the windows are the eyes to the soul' crap again."

"What? They are!" Gabriella protested, "you can see so many different emotions and feelings just by looking into someones eyes. Like now, you're content." She said, narrowing her eyes as she concentrated. "Your eyes are soft, their normal shade of hazel."

"Lucky guess." Ryan mumbled.

"It's not! You just need to know what you're looking for." Gabriella argued, "you can tell when someone is lying, or when they're trying to cover up something. You can tell when they're guilty or upset and angry. You can just tell somethings about them just by looking in their eyes. It's like you can really see what they're feeling. Why don't you get that?" She asked, scrunching her nose up.

"Because it's a load of shit." Ryan replied, "I know your mum said it and she's a very, very wise lady but it's just when you've spent your time trying to figure out ways to heal people mentally, then you see that some of them are bloody good liars and can cover up anything if they wanted to."

"Ryan, _you_ just can't see inside when they're covering up."

"Look, we're not going to start this conversation again." Ryan held up his hand to stop Gabriella from talking, "it only ends up with one of us pissed off...usually me."

"Because you know I'm right."

"Whatever." Ryan muttered, rolling his eyes, "anyway, lets talk about your new job, shall we? Spoken to anyone yet?"

"Just one, the editor-in-chief, _Julia Matte_!" Gabriella squealed excitedly, "I didn't know but she's one of mum's good friends and when she met up with Julia, she showed her my pictures. She said she loved them, can you believe it? Julia Matte loved _my_ pictures." Gabriella clapped her hands and Ryan smiled at her proudly. "Then Julia called me and offered me a job. I just can't believe that my first ever job is at _Matte magazine_!"

"I'm so proud of you, Gabs." Ryan told her truthfully, a beaming grin on his face, "I told you your pictures were awesome. I told you but did you believe me? No, well look where you're about to go, now."

"This is just so cool." Gabriella grinned, showing her pearly white teeth. "I really can not wait to start. I'll be so nervous though."

"When do you start?"

"Monday."

"So soon?" Ryan asked, surprise clearly evident in his voice.

"Yeah, they wanted me to start work as soon as possible." Gabriella explained giddily, "Julia told me that they hadn't found the right person and that their current photographer was leaving this Friday and still hadn't hired anyone for the position."

"You must of really impressed them, Gabs."

"I must of." Gabriella smiled, biting her lip to prevent her from screaming with joy. "Oh, and there's a party they invited me too. Their tenth anniversary or something like that, Julia said that her partner was going to introduce himself, help me around Matte and explain a few things. I wanted you to come too?"

"Sure, anything for you, when is it?"

"Friday."

"Great, I'll have to make sure I look smart enough." Ryan grinned, "I'm guessing a suit will do?"

"Yeah, just make sure you look good because this is a fashion magazine after all, there will be paparazzi and they'll pick up on bad clothes." Gabriella warned him.

"Gabs, when I have I ever not looked good?"

"Fair point," Gabriella replied, "you do have a good style for a man. But just take extra care, Matte's new photographer can't be seen with someone who is wearing clothes that is a year old." She teased and Ryan chuckled, pouring more wine into her, almost, finished glass.

"Right, I'll take that into account." He answered, holding up his glass. "Now, I think it's time to make a toast." Gabriella smiled and held up her glass too, "to Gabs, Matte's brand new and smoking hot photographer, may everything go wonderfully well!" He exclaimed, clinking glasses with Gabriella's before chuckling at her response.

"I'll definitely toast to that!"

~*~

It was, without a doubt, the greatest party Matte Magazine had ever held and they had always hosted the most superior and outrageous parties, in fact, they were known around the fashion industry for it and weren't about to give up that title. It was the most anticipated event of the year and everyone who was anyone wanted to be apart of it and the invitations were the most desired invitations in the world. They received publicity from everywhere due to it's fabulous guest lists. Celebrities prayed that they would get an invitation and it wasn't unheard of for some to try and sneak in, although it never worked as the it was one of the most secure places in America when the party began and hit full swing. Of course, the credit would always land on Troy as he was always the one to direct it and come up with a theme every year. This time was no different and Troy was glad to finally get into the event and away from the flashing lights and screams of teenage, and older, women. The party had already started and the thumping music of the surround sound speakers pumped through the large room as strobe lights electronically maneuvered around the walls, lighting up the room with the brightly different colours. This years theme being, circus.

Looking around, Troy spotted Chad and Taylor seated in one of the many dark blue booths, laughing with each and, and no doubt, flirting with each other too. Moving around the dancing throng of people, Troy managed to get over to the pair and seat himself with them. "Hello." He nodded his head towards them and Taylor sent him a large, toothy grin.

"Troy! You're here!" She exclaimed and stood up to walk round to Troy, flinging her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. "I thought you were never going to turn up."

"Well, I guess you could call me fashionably late." Troy replied causing Taylor to giggle. "How long have you two been here?"

"Only about an hour or so." Chad answered, sharing a manly hug with Troy, "I have to say, this party is awesome, man. Congratulations." He beamed, his usual cheeky smile that showed off his white teeth. "I think you have half of America here."

"Yeah, it's turned out even better than I expected." Troy nodded, looking around the room at the many people who were dancing, drinking and having fun. "I wasn't too sure about the acrobats but they look good." Troy said, watching one particular acrobat who received an applause after one trick by a group of people.

"Yeah, it's great, Troy, it really is." Taylor added, "you're looking very nice too." She complimented, looking at his suit which consisted of a crisp, white shirt, a black tie and dark blue trousers and jacket. His hair was out of his eyes, sticking up slightly at the front, his blue eyes matching his clothes perfectly.

"Thank you, Tay." The corner of Troy's mouth upturned into a small smile, "you look beautiful yourself." She wore a strapless, deep red dress that finished about mid-thigh, it complimented her dark skin which shone in the light and her black straight hair framed her face, her fringe just above her eyes. "You guys seen, Sharpay?"

"No and, quite frankly, I couldn't give a shit." Chad mumbled, however it was loud enough for Taylor and Troy to hear, this earned him a slap on the chest from Taylor who looked at him which a disapproving expression. "What? You know I can't stand her."

"Can't you, at least, try?" Taylor asked her boyfriend, giving him a small pout. "She's one of my best friends. Please be nice."

"I can't! I physically can not be nice to her."

"Please!"

"Fine," Chad sighed. "But I'm not promising anything, she's so high maintenance."

"Thank you, honey." Taylor kissed his cheek softly instead of his lips, not wanting to display public affection, something which they weren't particular fans of and Troy certainly wouldn't have been happy with. "By the way, last thing I saw was Sharpay getting very close to a male on the dance floor," Taylor smirked before saying, "so, Troy, I heard we've got a new photographer."

"Yeah, she should be here tonight." Troy replied, taking a drink out of the waiter's hand and sending him a nod to say thank you. "I've got to meet with her tonight."

"What's she like?"

"Have no clue." Troy shrugged, "Julia was the one to hire her. I wasn't sure at first but Julia sent some of her photos over and I was impressed. They're much better than what I expected, a lot better actually. But I have no idea what the women looks like so I've had to ask someone at the door to send her to me."

"Where is she coming from?"

"No where, she hasn't worked before." Troy explained, "she's fresh out of college."

"Bit of a risk, isn't it, dude?"

"I suppose," Troy shrugged again, "I'll admit that was my initial thought but, like I said, her pictures are impressive." As the three continued to talk, suddenly, Sharpay came over looking extremely angry, her brow was furrowed and her lips had turned into a snarl.

"Troy, why the hell did you invite my brother?" She screamed, swaying slightly due to having too many drinks. "You know I _hate_ my brother!"

"I didn't." Troy replied casually. "I hardly know your brother, remember, he moved in with your grandparents before I had a proper chance to get to know him."

"Then why is he _here_?" Sharpay asked angrily, her arms folded across her chest just like she usually did when she was irritated, however she quickly unfolded them and tried to steady herself instead.

"I have no idea, Shar." Troy shrugged, "maybe he's here with someone who was invited. All I know is that I didn't invite him and he couldn't of snuck in."

"Mr. Bolton, sir." A large man with big muscles and a black top that read security came over with two much smaller people behind him, both of their faces blocked by the man, "this is Gabriella Montez, you asked for her to be brought over to you."

Troy nodded and stood up as the man stepped aside and walked back to the door, when Troy finally looked up, he came face to face with someone very familiar to him. Both of them, wide eyed looked at each other before their expressions turned sour and they shouted simultaneously "_You!_"


	2. Chapter 2

**Behind His Eyes **

_Summary: They say the eyes are the windows to the soul but all anyone could see was a blank, icy cold stare back at them. Why is it that Gabriella Montez could find something more when no one else did? Even if she does hate working for that person that is so emotionless. _

_A.N. Hey! Sorry that this has taken ages to update, but there were the holidays and then my computer cut out half way through writing this once and it lost it all because I didn't save it... :S make sure you save your work, people! Then, school, well...that's just a whole different planet right now. There is so much and I have exams but I managed to write this in the last few days because of the weekend and then, yesterday was a SNOW DAY! Whooooooop! Half the day was spent sledging, the other writing this. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who favourited, alerted and reviewed this story. I was really happy with the response._

_Read, enjoy, review!_

**Chapter 2 – First Day **

_Matte's Tenth Anniversary Party 2009, Manhattan, New York _

"_You!" They screamed, fingers pointing towards each other. "What are you doing here?" They asked in unison, anger bubbling inside both of them whilst their friends stood back and watched with intrigued expressions. _

"_What do you mean?" Troy snarled, "I'm the editor-in-chief for Matte Magazine, I think the real question is, what are you doing here? Isn't this a too classy for someone like you?" _

"_You bastard!" She breathed out, her body shaking with fury. "I'm the new photographer for Matte Magazine." She said proudly before gasping, bringing her hand over her mouth and she stared at Troy wide eyed as a smirk played his lips. "Oh, God, please say that doesn't make you my...my-" _

"_Boss?" Troy offered, his arms folded across his chest., "yes, it really does." _

"_But...wh...I..." Gabriella stuttered and Troy began to chuckle. _

"_Cat got your tongue?" He asked, although he didn't give her anytime to respond before saying, "well that makes a change from earlier this afternoon. Or is it because you just found out that I can fire you, so now you're about to suck up to me?"_

"_I don't think I could suck up to you even if I tried." Gabriella spat, narrowing her eyes at him and mentally laughed as his smirk faded. "Oh, did you expect me to? Sorry to disappoint but I'm not really one for that." _

"_I didn't pin you down for one either, angel." _

"_Don't call me angel!" Gabriella snapped, "I have a name so use it." _

"_Oh, but I'm your boss, _angel_." He smirked as she clenched her fists tightly at her sides. "I can call you whatever I want because I'm the editor for this magazine and I can fire your ass right now." _

"_So, why don't you?" She challenged, raising one eyebrow and folding her arms across her chest, popping one hip out. "Really, what is stopping you from doing that?" _

"_Gabby, don't push it-" Ryan warned nervously, putting a hand on his shoulder but she shrugged him off, not breaking her intense stare at Troy. _

"_You should listen to your boyfriend." _

"_He's not my boyfriend." Gabriella hissed, "it seems though that you're just trying to change the subject. Tell me, why aren't you firing me now?" _

"_Because..." Troy leant forward, licking his lips unconsciously, "that means, I would be giving you some satisfaction. You think I can't handle a little Barbie brat like you? Well let me fill you in on something, I can handle _anything_ and if that means your pathetic little tantrums, then so be it. I'm giving you three chances, Montez." He spat, clenching his teeth as he added, "three strikes and you're out, got it?" _

"_You're an ass." Gabriella mumbled but, unfortunately for her, Troy had heard her clearly, even above the thumping music, clinking of glasses and loud chatter of everyone around them. _

"_Oh, and you just lost your first strike, angel," Troy informed her. "For being rude to higher authorities. Only two more and you're gone."_

"_Why you little-"_

"_Oh-kay, lets get you a drink." Ryan interrupted quickly, taking a firm grip her elbows and leading her away from Troy who was left to smirk as he watched Gabriella struggled against Ryan's grip. "You're definitely going to need one." _

_Matte Magazine's Building, Manhattan, New York_

That evening had, most certainly, _not_ been a pleasant one for Gabriella. Once, Ryan had led her over to the bar, despite her mighty struggles, he had placed her on a bar stool and ordered her a drink, watching her carefully in case she tried to go back and pick another fight; which Ryan was sure she was going to try but instead, Gabriella sat down with a scowl on her face all evening and every time Troy was close to her, she gave him a shooting glare that would knock him down dead, if he wasn't sending the same look back. Now it was Monday morning and Gabriella's first, official day at Matte Magazine.

She wasn't nervous, like she thought she should have been, after all, this was her first job and she hadn't started on the best of terms with her new boss. Gabriella cringed at those words, _new boss_, she couldn't believe that someone so arrogant like Troy was related to such a sweet women like Julia. But, she had no choice when it came to having a meeting with him because, despite what she had done at the party, she didn't want to lose this job. This job was a big deal and she was extremely lucky to have even got an interview, let alone the actual job. Sighing gently, Gabriella knocked on his door and after she heard a muffled reply, Gabriella stepped in, her heels losing their voice as they went from the hard, white tiles to his cream carpeted floor.

"Miss. Montez." He greeted formally, nodding his head towards her and motioning her to sit down in the chair across the other side of the table from him. "Take a seat." She did as she was told, her jaw clenched tightly as he smirked because she was following his orders. "I want you to know Miss. Montez that you made a _very_ bad first impression on Saturday."

"I know..." she forced out, "sir."

"And the strikes, they still apply." Troy told her, leaning casually back into his chair, "I thought I'd give you another chance. The last strike won't count, I thought since this is officially your first day of work, you still have three strikes, _angel_." He explained, his mouth curving upwards into a smirk. He was testing her and she knew it so Gabriella responded by nodding her head stiffly, her lips pursing together tightly into a thin line.

"Is that all, Mr. Bolton? You see, I would really like to go see my office."

"Patience is a virtue." He answered slowly before narrowing his eyes into a glare, "I'm going to be straight with you. I don't take orders from people, they take orders from me and I certainly will not listen to an unexperienced photographer who is trying to order me about. It isn't the way things work around here." His voice was quiet but bitterly, almost menacing and Gabriella couldn't help but feel a spark of fear jolt round her body, however, she kept her expression in a monotone. "If you ever, and I mean _ever_ Miss. Montez, try and tell me what to do, then I won't care about how many strikes you have, I will fire you on the spot, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Gabriella nodded her head quickly.

"Now, I want the very best for this magazine and so whatever work you do must be up to my standards." He told her sternly, "not up to my standards then you get fired. We have a reputation to keep, Miss. Montez, I'm not prepared to lose it because you can't do your job properly."

"With all due respects, _sir_," Gabriella rolled her hands into fists on her knees as his words began to get under her skin. "If my work was, as bad you as you appear to making it, I doubt I would have gotten the job at all. Surely, I must be doing something right. And I know that I've never had any experience yet but I'm dedicated, I love photography and I'll make sure you'll always be getting the best shots. When it comes to my work, I'm a perfectionist."

"You better be."

"May I leave, Mr. Bolton?"

"Yes, go, and I don't want to see you unless it's completely necessary." He warned her, "stay out of my way, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

~*~

Sharpay Evans wasn't an easy person to connect with; her bold attitude and in-your-face manner meant she didn't have time for anyone who wanted to ease their way into her life. And yet, that was how everyone tried to approach her, with caution and discretion because they believed, that was the best thing to do. That had been Jessica Hall's problem when she had her first encounter with Sharpay, it had also been her first day as Troy's assistant but with Sharpay being so close to Troy, Jessica couldn't take it anymore and left within the first week. It had also been Chad Danforth's problem in high school, when his relationship with Taylor took off and he wanted to befriend Taylor's best friend. Only, he stuck around because of Taylor, ignoring the blonde as much as he could. It had also been Ryan Evans' problem since birth. Ryan had been born just one minute, thirty seconds before her yet she had been the dominant child, always wanting the attention, always craving it whilst he had always walked on egg shells with her. That's why she had no time for him; her own brother!

Maybe that's why she liked Gabriella because she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, stand up for herself, be fearless. Although, she felt the need to not like her because she was clearly good friends with her brother, however, she _wanted_ to like her because she seemed to be strong-minded. So, the latter overruled her first, initial thoughts and set out to befriend Gabriella, something in which she didn't usually do, in fact, Sharpay didn't know if there had ever been a time where _she_ was making friends with someone, _they_ were always trying to make friends with _her_.

"So, you're the new photographer." Sharpay stated, in an accusing manner, her manicured hands planted on her hips, her hazel eyes casting downwards at Gabriella who was sitting down at her desk, writing something furiously down.

"Yes." Gabriella replied, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion, before narrowing her eyes, recognizing who Sharpay was, "who wants to know?" Her snappy attitude made the corners of Sharpay's mouth tug upwards in to a smile, much to Gabriella's confusion, before Sharpay walked round and pulled Gabriella into a tight hug.

"Despite you being close with my brother and all," Sharpay pulled back, "I can tell we're going to be _great_ friends." She giggled. "So, I'm Sharpay Evans." She added, holding out her hand for Gabriella to take.

"Gabriella Montez." She replied slowly, taking her extended hand. "I'm sorry but did you say you were Ryan's sister, Sharpay? _That_ Sharpay?"

"Yes, for some strange reason, God decided to put me with the idiot." Sharpay rolled her eyes, a look of hatred in her eyes. "And before you defend him," she held her hand up as Gabriella was about to protest, "I really _don't_ care. Ryan may be your friend but I don't want much to do with him, so I would be grateful if you didn't mention him whilst I'm around, okay?"

"Um...sure." Gabriella looked at her strangely. "So, er, what department did you say you worked on?"

"I didn't." Sharpay answered, sitting down on the seat opposite Gabriella, crossing one leg on top of the other and leaning casually back into the chair, "I'm in the fashion department. I design the clothes and make them myself before dressing them on models that don't eat enough." Gabriella's lips twisted up into a smile and she laughed quietly before Sharpay began slowly, "so, you and Troy."

"Troy? Oh, do you mean Mr. Bolton?"

"_Pfft_, all that Mr. Bolton shit, I don't put up with it." Sharpay waved her hand in front of her face, "to be honest, I'm surprised he gets people to call him that, he used to say it reminded him of his father and boy, that _isn't_ a good topic to come up with for Troy."

"What do you mean?" Gabriella leaned forward with interest, placing her pen down, "has he got issues with his father?"

"Something like that." Sharpay sighed, oblivious to Gabriella's interest, although the interest was purely for blackmailing purposes, any dirt on Troy Bolton would be wonderful for Gabriella, maybe there was a lesser risk to get fired then...or not, it could go _both_ ways. "I don't know the full story, not even that _pig_ Danforth knows properly."

"Danforth?" Gabriella questioned, "I've never heard of a Danforth in _Matte_ magazine."

"He's the sports writer."

"Ah, and that is why." Gabriella smirked, wrinkling her nose up, "I'm not much of a sports fan, I was when I was younger but not so much now. I prefer the fashion pages, I'm _very_ much a girl."

"Oh, we're going to get along splendidly, Gabriella." Sharpay clapped her hands, "I hate, hate, _hate_ sports. It's never been my type of thing, even in high school and especially since _Danforth_ is writing it, trust me, I hate the guy, I only put up with him because he's dating Taylor, my best friend and well, Troy is also my friend and he's known Danforth since, like...birth."

"You're _friends_ with Troy!" Gabriella exclaimed loudly, honestly surprised that Troy had people who genuinely liked him. "So, I'm guessing you don't get all his shit then."

"Shit from Troy?" Sharpay laughed, "honey, _I_ give _Troy_ shit. He hates me at work, I'm always asking for things but I can't help it, it's like a curse, you know. I've been doing it ever since I was a kid, I'll admit, when I want something, I'll ask my father but that's why he's there, he said it so himself and I don't care how spoilt that made me seem."

"Right, well, it seems Mr. Bolton has it out for me." Gabriella sighed, rolling her eyes, "just because I told him what I thought of him. No offense, because he's your friend and all, but seriously, what _is_ his problem!" Sharpay laughed out loud again.

"Most of his problems relate back to his father." Sharpay explained, before standing up, an almost, sly smile on her features, "you know, Gabriella, we were all going out this evening to check out this new club, you should definitely think about joining. I could introduce you to Taylor, trust me, you two will get along amazingly, I'm sure."

"You know, I might just hold you to that." Gabriella gave a toothy grin, "I need to get out more often, I've been stuck at home almost everyday because of college. I think I need to live a little more."

"That's settled then," Sharpay nodded her head, "order a taxi to _The Loft_ for nine-thirty. I don't know where you live but you'll get there after us, I'll wait outside for you."

"Why do I need to order a taxi?"

"Honey," Sharpay leant forward, resting her hands on Gabriella's desk and giving her a cheeky smile, "_trust_ me, you won't want to be driving with the amount of alcohol I'm going to get down your throat. When you party with Sharpay Evans, girl, you party in _style_!" Laughing, Gabriella nodded eagerly, "great, I'll see you later."

"Bye, Sharpay." Gabriella responded, an amused smile still firmly on her lips as she watched Sharpay walked away, and as Sharpay rounded the corner, she knew that she was _definitely_ going to get along famously with Gabriella Montez.

~*~

**To: **Troy Bolton, Taylor McKessie

**From: **Sharpay Evans

**Subject: **Party Time!

Right, so here's the plan for this evening...

There's the new club just opened, Friday, called _The Loft_ just round the corner from my apartment. Who wants to get absolutely car parked? Because I know I do, it's a Monday and I'm already willing to kill myself. Seriously, Troy, we need better models, these girls are all too _whiny_, too much like me so do something about that Mr. Editor-in-chief, or I will castrate you (I'm _not_ kidding Bolton!). How about you come to mine around eight-thirty-ish? I'll show you where to go and if you get slaughtered tonight, you are welcome to stay back at mine but please, Troy, I'm begging you, no sex at my apartment. I don't want to have to take the day off just so I can get someone to clean the whole house.

Oh, and Taylor, I want to introduce you to someone, I think you'll get along with them great. I've already met them and I just can't wait for you to too. Although, if you wish, you may invite that leech you call a boyfriend, I won't be happy if you do but if you really and desperately need to, then, yes you have permission to bring him along. I still don't know your infatuation with that thing. So, what do you guys think? Write back as soon as you get this...

Shar xxx

-

**To:** Sharpay Evans, Troy Bolton

**From:** Taylor McKessie

**Subject:** R.E. Party Time!

Sharpay, how many times have I told you _not_ to call Chad things like a _leech_? He's my boyfriend and I know he's not going away any time soon. I'm sure if you two took the time to talk to each other, then you would find something in common and something that you could talk about. Hey, how about how amazing I am? However, you better not be setting me up with someone! I will not be happy. Anyway, girl, you should know by now that I'm up for anything like that. You're right, Monday's are the _worst_. Troy, have you thought about making Monday an extra day off? I know that you would be even more popular if you did that...(_nudge_,_ nudge_).

I'll be there, _with_ Chad, around eight thirty at yours then. See you later.

Tay xxx

-

**To:** Sharpay Evans, Taylor McKessie

**From:** Troy Bolton

**Subject:** R.E. R.E. Party Time!

Firstly, Sharpay, you _moan_ if the models are too fat, you _moan_ if they're too skinny, you _moan_ if they move their right arm too much, you _moan_ because they're not like you. Shut. Up. We keep the models until the time for the next lot approaches, okay? That shouldn't even be a question, you're right, _I_ am Mr. Editor-in-chief and what I say goes so don't start complaining about that. I'm your boss, remember, I already had to give a speech to new photographer girl for being a complete bitch. I will fire you. I don't care if you're my friend. I don't care if that is harsh.

Secondly, why would I have sex in your apartment? You have to give me some credit, Shar, I would never bring them to one of my friend's houses, nor mine for the matter, otherwise, they can come back and they like to try and start up a relationship, that's not going to happen. So, don't worry, you won't have to take a day off just so someone _else_ can clean _your_ apartment.

Thirdly, lay off Chad, he's Taylor's boyfriend and my best mate. I don't need to know how much you hate the guy, I already know enough about it. That's something in common, how much you hate each other, ever tried having a civil conversation about that?

Fourthly, Taylor, if I made Monday apart of the weekend, everyone would start moaning about Tuesdays, you are _never_ going to win.

Lastly, I'll come. Already pissed off because of photographer girl, need to have a few good drinks. I'll meet you at the club at about nine...

Troy.

-

**To:** Troy Bolton, Taylor McKessie

**From:** Sharpay Evans

**Subject:** R.E.R.E.R.E Party Time!

I refuse to have any type of conversation with Danforth. (See how I didn't put leech, kudos to _me_!) You're lucky I even let you invite him. Just see it like, I'm the top market, beautiful dress that everyone wants, he's the fake pair of Uggs you get for five dollars, put the two together, it really doesn't go together very well- in fact, it's a major fashion _disaster_! Why would you want to put those two together? Why would you put them through that _hell_? Why, Taylor, _why_?

And, before you freak out and lose your head...no, I'm not setting you up with anyone.

See you cherubs later!

Shar xxx

-

**To:** Sharpay Evans

**From:** Chad Danforth

**Subject: **You're A Bitch.

You're a bitch, you know that, right Evans? And you can _definitely_ count me in this evening.

-

**To:** Chad Danforth

**From:** Sharpay Evans

**Subject:** You're A Dick.

You're a dick, Danforth! And I don't care if you're coming this evening, just know that you can stay outside my apartment, I don't want your _grubby_, _disgusting_, _vile_ self anywhere near my belongings or me, for that matter. I'll make sure there's a dog bed outside the door.

-

**To: **Sharpay Evans

**From:** Chad Danforth

**Subject:** No subject.

Bite me.

~*~

"So, how was your first day?" Ryan asked as Gabriella came through the door, rubbing the back of her neck. "Tough, I'm presuming?" He added, the corners of his mouth turning upwards into a small smile as he brought the coffee cup to his lips.

"You can say that again, there was so much...paperwork!" Gabriella exclaimed, collapsing onto the sofa with a relieved sigh. "But, I'm not going to lie to you Ry, it was unbelievably awesome! And everyone, excluding Mr. _Jackass_ Bolton, are really nice. Plus, I have an _assistant_, how cool is that! His name is Jason, he's sweet, if not a little dopey but sweet all the same."

"That's good." Ryan nodded, "did you take any photos? Impress everyone with you're immaculate skills?" He asked, sitting in his usual chair and propping his feet up on the coffee table in front of him.

"No, like I said, too much paperwork." Gabriella yawned. "Oh, by the way I, um, started talking with your sister." Ryan spluttered on his coffee and looked at, Gabriella with wide eyes, leaning forward in his chair and Gabriella could tell that he was eager to know more. "She was...nice."

"What did you talk about?"

"Not a lot." Gabriella answered truthfully, twirling a strand of hair round her finger. "She just introduced herself to me, we had a little chat about Bolton...she invited me out with her and her friends this evening." She added quickly, not so much afraid of what Ryan's reaction would be, just how Ryan would feel about the situation. "You know, you could come along too?" She suggested but Ryan shook his head vigorously from side to side.

"No." He answered simply. "I can't, she wouldn't be pleased and considering you're the one that has to work with her, I'll leave it, I think. I don't want her making everyone turn their backs on you, trust me, it's not a pleasant thing to happen, especially since this is your first work place and your first day. No, just..._no_." He finished, leaning back into the chair. "Anyway, I have a couple of bits of paperwork I need to deal with, need to make sure they're complete for tomorrow, so, even if everything _was_ cool with my sister, I wouldn't be able to attend anyway."

"Are you sure?" Gabriella asked sweetly, sitting up straighter from the sofa. "You know, I could always tell her I can't come, she emailed me her number. Or, you could come to the club just, we'd sit in a different booth from the rest." She offered and Ryan smiled at her attempts but still, shook his head.

"No, it's okay, Gabs." He replied, "you go and have fun. Like I said, I need to do work."

"Well, I better get in the shower." Gabriella sighed heavily, "got to make myself look pretty for this evening."

Two hours later and Gabriella emerged from her room, fiddling with her hair which had been put in a messy bun but a few stray curls were left out to frame her face which had been just lightly covered with make-up. Ryan looked Gabriella up and down, noticing how her black heels elongated her tanned legs and the black dress, that hit mid-thigh, hugged her figure perfectly, showing her curves in a sleek, subtle and stylish way. "Wow, Gabs," he breathed out. "You look wonderful."

"Really? Seriously, be honest," Gabriella replied, placing her phone in the silver clutch bag, "especially since your sister is the fashion director. I don't want her to run away from me with disgust."

"Trust me, she won't."

"Okay, good." Gabriella nodded her head with satisfaction and sat down, the pair in silence for a few minutes until the buzzer sounded. "That'll be my taxi. See you later, Ry." She bent down to kiss him on the cheek quickly before grabbing her coat and heading out the door, informing the taxi driver that she was on her way.

It had been a relatively short drive to _The Loft_, although, the traffic made sure it was longer than it really needed to be. When Gabriella stepped out, she immediately saw Sharpay waiting patiently outside- she wasn't hard to miss being clad in a pink mini dress and black heels. As soon as Sharpay caught sight of Gabriella, she ran up to her, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek and a tight, friendly hug, as if they had known each other for years. "You're here!" She squealed. "Right, come on." She demanded cheerfully and grabbed hold of Gabriella's hand pulling her to the entrance and being let in straight away, much to the annoyance of the throng of people who had been queuing up. Gabriella couldn't help but giggle slightly at how forceful Sharpay was but it suited Gabriella just fine, knowing that she, herself, could be just as bad. "Now, don't be alarmed, I know that you'll hate me for it but there is no way you can be friends with me _and_ avoid him."

"What are yo-" Gabriella began before Sharpay spun her round by her shoulders and she came face to face with a pair of familiar, and still just as shocking, blue eyes. Muttering under breath, "oh, _crap_!"

"I said, don't be alarmed." Sharpay offered lightly with a shrug of her shoulders. "Like I said, there is just no way to avoid him when you're friends with me. We all hang out together, but don't worry, I'll make sure you're not left alone."

"What, the _fuck_, Sharpay!" Troy shouted angrily, standing up and sneering in Gabriella's direction who merely rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, raising her eyebrows at him like she was challenging him again. "The only reason I came here tonight was because of _her_;I wanted to get away from her not have her around. Sharpay, I don't want her here."

"Well, tough luck, Bolton. Deal with it!" Sharpay snapped in response, placing her hand on his chest and pushing him back down to his chair, which Gabriella found extremely amusing. "She's my friend now and if I want to invite her along then I will, anyway, I wanted her to meet Taylor because I know that they'll get along wonderfully." She added sharply, nudging Gabriella into the booth so she was sitting next to the dark-skinned girl who was sniggering at Sharpay's orders."Least Gabriella is able to handle it."

"Fuck off!" Troy spat, glaring at Sharpay who rolled her eyes in response, handing Gabriella a pre-ordered drink and telling her to drink up. And as Gabriella lifted the glass to her lips, she looked up to see the burning, harsh glare of Troy staring back at her, his gaze not leaving hers as he took a sip of his own beer. Although, Gabriella found it amusing and matched him with a small, smug smile and a nod of her head, knowing that her composed response was making his blood bubble, making it difficult to contain her laughter as she thought...

_This is going to be interesting. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Behind His Eyes**

_Summary: They say the eyes are the windows to the soul but all anyone could see was a blank, icy cold stare back at them. Why is it that Gabriella Montez could find something more when no one else did? Even if she does hate working for that person that is so emotionless. _

_A.N. Hello world! This is the third chapter of 'Behind His Eyes' and I really hope you all enjoy it. It was quite fun to write actually and I think the next one will be too. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I absolutely love, love, love reading them. It really inspires me to write more so thank you and make sure you review this one too! :)_

_Read, enjoy, review!_

**Chapter 3 - Angel  
**

_This is going to be interesting. _

And it had been, a _very_ interesting evening -at least- it had been for Gabriella because as soon as she took that drink from, Sharpay, one drink turned into two drinks and two drinks soon changed to _five_ drinks until Gabriella, honestly, could not remember what was passing her lips. She knew that it was foolish, after all, this was only a Monday and she had a whole _week_ to get through, not to mention, her boss was in close proximities of her and already hated her guts, but, Sharpay was _so_ much fun to be with that she never realised when one drink finished because Sharpay had another one waiting for her before you could say _pop_! Of course, the blonde wasn't in an acceptable state either but the two girls didn't care as they laughed loudly, shaking their hips to the beat of the music. How she had never met, Sharpay before was beyond Gabriella because by the end of the night, they were practically joined at the hip and Gabriella felt as if she had known the blonde for years, maybe even her whole life, in fact, she had molded into their group straight away, excluding Troy- of course.

Taylor was just as lively as Sharpay, throwing her head around to the music and laughing loudly along side Gabriella, both sharing a joke that wasn't amusing but hilarious to the two girls who had consumed too much alcohol but, as the night wore on, she had disappeared with Chad, another boisterous character of the group. He was most definitely the joker of the pack, always trying to make everyone laugh, throwing comments out that caused Gabriella to choke on her drink. He was just as eccentric as his hair which was large, curly and, Gabriella had noticed and pointed out, bounced when he moved his head. He had mainly stayed with Troy at the table, which made Gabriella laugh to herself, knowing that she had ruined Troy's evening by turning up but, then again, it hadn't been her fault, right? In fact, if she had known that Troy was also attending, then she probably would have politely declined, Sharpay, although somehow, Gabriella believed that a small shake of her head wouldn't have stopped Sharpay from bringing her along. It wasn't her fault that the two just weren't compatible with each other, maybe they could be civil with one another if he wasn't so uptight and cold.

However, Troy did have the courtesy to help her and Sharpay back to Sharpay's apartment in the early hours of the morning when neither could hold themselves up properly. He had decided that the night was over for them and just as he stood up to go collect the two girls, although, the thought of leaving Gabriella dancing by herself did cross his mind and amuse him ever so slightly, the brunette crashed into his hard chest as she had tripped over her own feet, trying to make her way back to table. There had been a moment shared, neither one of them would admit that it was a moment, of course, but from an on-looker, it had definitely been something where Gabriella's mocha eyes met up with his cerulean ones; both just staring, neither daring to break the gaze, his hands were still on her forearms where he had steadied her as hers had clutched onto his elbows for support. However, the moment was broken as Sharpay came bouncing up to both of them, a drink in each hand, yet another one for Gabriella, who gave a hearty laugh before attempting to receive the beverage from the blonde's hand but, before she could, Troy had reached out and taken it easily, placing it on the table.

"Tr-_oy_!" Sharpay slurred, pronouncing his name with two syllables, her brow furrowed with annoyance and she stumbled as she tried to grab the drink once more, but Troy just moved it slightly away with one finger. "Tr-oy, would you stop th-at!" She ordered, Troy rolled his eyes as he watched her sway gently from side to side.

"No, you are both drunk and you have work tomorrow...actually, I should be saying today." Troy gave them an unimpressed look but Gabriella sniggered behind her hand, resembling a small child who was being scolded. "I'm taking you both home, now." He closed his eyes and sighed deeply as they began to protest, in Sharpay's case, shaking his shoulders, although there was little effect considering he towered above the both of them, he was stronger and Sharpay was still swaying. "Now, Sharpay." He narrowed his eyes and smirked with satisfaction as they quickly gathered up their things. "Good, right, come on."

It hadn't taken them long to reach, Sharpay's apartment, she really was just round the corner from the excitement and Troy had, somehow, managed to get them both into the flat without neither one of them getting hurt; it had been a miracle considering, Sharpay insisted that the road was a lot more fun, trying to pull Gabriella along with her. Luckily, with Troy being so much stronger, he had yanked Gabriella's arm back bringing Sharpay along with her.

"Home," _hiccup_, "sweet," _hiccup_, "home." Sharpay sighed contently, wandering off to her bedroom, the sedatives in the alcohol finally settling in, making Gabriella, too, very drowsy, however, she didn't know where to go having never been to Sharpay's apartment before.

"Where do I go?" Gabriella asked quietly to herself, rubbing her eyes and reminding Troy of a small child; watching her, Troy tilted his head as she looked around the living room which led onto an open kitchen. Finally, he decided he better get her to bed once she began to sway again but, with him being so quiet, she forgot he was there.

"Come on." He whispered, not even sure why he was being quiet himself as he touched her elbow, but she jumped when he spoke, gasping slightly as he touched her bare skin, she hadn't put her coat back on, complaining that she was going to be too hot. "I'll take you to the spare room." Usually, he would take that bedroom, often sleeping round Sharpay's house but always in the spare room alone and a part of him was asking why he didn't just set Gabriella up on the sofa, the other part protested, one: she was drunk and tomorrow would be horrible, she needed this rest and two: there was a photo shoot she needed to attend, not that she was doing the photography but Troy wanted her to learn a little more seeing as she had little experience, she needed a comfortable night.

He ended up maneuvering Gabriella to the room, not that it was far, nor was there any clutter in her way, it was just the pure fact that she was easily distracted and Troy hadn't had a hold on her the first couple of times. "Hey, look, she has a massive clock. Have you seen it? It's like a...mini big Ben!" She giggled and Troy had rolled his eyes, pulling her back on track, however she then turned the other direction and quickly wandered off, not hearing Troy groan. "Do you think if I touched this, it would break?" She asked, staring in awe at the large crystal sculpture of a dog. "It's not a real dog that's been crysta-" _hiccup_ "lised, is it?"

"No."

"Where are we going?"

"The bedroom."

"I'm drunk, no taking ad-" _hiccup_, _hiccup_, "vantage of me."

"Trust me, I won't."

"I'm offended."

"What?" Troy asked with confusion, looking at her with a slight furrowed brow.

"That you won't take advantage of me." Gabriella cried, looking at him with frustration. "What's wrong with me? Other guys try and take advantage, not that I let them but they try..." She whined and Troy couldn't resist but let the amused smirk lazily settle on his lips, still leading her into the space room. "It's because you're a dick, isn't it." That wiped the smirk away as his jaw clenched, Troy had always hated when someone accused him of being things, whether they be true or not. "It's because you're a dick and you don't like me."

"Really?" Troy replied in a monotone, no longer finding her slurred speech amusing.

"Yes. You hate me." Gabriella stumbled, Troy pulling her back by her waist and, for the second time, she crashed into his chest. "Why do you hate me? Really, you should be groveling, you were the one that knocked into me first."

"That was a mistake, angel." Troy answered, not realising that he had spoken his 'nickname' until it was too late. "Do you know what you could do to make this easier...walk in the right direction." He referred to Gabriella who was being distracted by other objects, with her walking back to the living room each time. Where it should have taken only a few seconds to get to the spare room, it was taking them a few minutes instead because of her wandering feet.

"I feel sick."

"That would be because of the amount you decided to drink tonight, angel." He shook his head, letting the nickname slip again, he only said that to annoy her, it wasn't her real nickname, he wasn't going to _give_ her a nickname, they weren't going to be close. At least, that's what Troy kept telling himself before he wondered why the voice inside his head was suddenly sounding so defensive.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Troy groaned.

"Don't." He ordered sternly. "At least, wait until you're in bed and I can put a bucket by you. Just don't whilst I'm here." She clutched her head, complaining of a throbbing headache. "I'll get you paracetamol as well. Remember, you've got to go to that photo shoot later today, I can't have you hung-over, it'll look bad for the company and remember that I told you, anything bad to the company and-"

"And I'm fired. Blah, blah, _blah_!" Gabriella finished. "Anyway, I don't get hang-overs."

"With the amount you drunk-"

"I _don't_ get hang-overs." She repeated more sternly, cutting him off for the second time and causing his frustration levels to rise, no one dared to interrupt Troy, it was a taboo for anyone to talk back to him either, with the exceptions of his friends, considering he could be such a cold person. To be quite honest, Troy scared people but not Gabriella. "I'm so tired." She yawned, resting her head on Troy's chest as they continued to walk, although her pace began to slow down, almost as if she was happy to fall asleep right there, although, Troy couldn't stay there all night so he did the first thing that came into his mind and picked her up in a bridal style, her arms already snaking round his neck and her face close to his, so close that he could feel her hot breath. Before he knew it, she had already fallen asleep, her breathing soft and regular then, of course, she had stopped talking so, carefully, Troy gently placed her on the bed but as he tried to pull away, her arms seemed to pull him closer and he had to steady himself, to stop himself from crushing her, by placing his hand on the mattress.

"Gabriella." He whispered but she didn't seem to stir, her features in a state of peace and serenity as she was already in a deep slumber. "Fuck." He muttered under his breath, still so close to her that his nose was almost touching hers but he couldn't stay, although something about her was becoming more and more inviting, however, he quickly shook his head, dismissing any thoughts, so he softly grabbed her hands which were folded together behind his neck and detached themselves from him. He walked out, leaving her in the position she was in, telling himself he didn't care, however, when he came back in with a large glass of water and some paracetamol tablets, he sighed to himself before taking her shoes off and tucking her into the bed. Finally, then he was able to retire to the sofa where he was spending the night.

~*~

The next morning and Sharpay thought she going to kill someone. At least, whoever it was who was making such an atrocious noise that early, especially when she had a throbbing headache that made her feel like her head was about to explode and her whole stomach was going to come up her throat and out her mouth. "Whoever that is, shut. It. _Off_!" She screamed but immediately regretting it as her hand flew to her head. "Troy." She growled, her teeth clenched together as she saw his messy hair behind the blender.

"Morning." He replied, a slight nod of the head although Sharpay could see the amusement in his eyes. "Just making you something for the hangover!" He exclaimed loudly, on purpose, and began to grin, knowing that the blonde was ready to throttle him at any moment, the phrase _if looks could kill_, came into Troy's mind as the deathly glare from Sharpay was good enough to make anyone shrink into the darkness.

"Turn it off." Sharpay ordered. "_Now_."

But, Troy being Troy carried on, lightly humming to himself a song that he had recently heard on the radio, one that he knew Sharpay hated, and of course, Sharpay being Sharpay stormed over, shoved Troy out the way and pressed the off button on her blender. "_Hey_! I was trying to make you something."

"Troy, you do this every time and it's already done." Sharpay interjected. "Remember, you do this to wake _me_ up, annoy _me_, start _my_ day off badly because you are a son-of-a-bitch and it makes me want to kill you." She smiled sweetly, cringing and wrinkling her nose up in disgust at the smell of the concoction inside the blender. "Okay, that is worse than I remember."

"Ah, that would be because I added another ingredient."

"Which is...?"

"Grass."

"_Grass_?" Sharpay looked at him, her brow furrowed with a look of confusion. "You put _grass_ in this. Okay, one: why? And two: how the _hell_ did you get grass!"

"Well...one: I did it because I was getting bored of all the other ingredients," he answered in a patronizing manner, listing his answer off with his fingers, "and two: I went to the park a couple of blocks away. You know, the one you don't want to go to because it's full of kids."

"_Urgh_, yes, I know the very one." Sharpay scowled, "stupid kids...so, did you show Gabby where the spare bedroom was?"

"Yes."

"Did you sleep with her?" She asked casually, causing Troy to choke on his coffee which he had begun to drink just seconds before she asked the question. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You will do no such thing, Evans." Troy spat, narrowing his eyes. "I didn't sleep with Miss. Montez, in fact, I slept on the sofa, although I was really contemplating making her sleep on there so I could get a good night sleep, after all, I'm the-"

"Boss, yeah, I know. Shut up about it or I'll punch you." Troy closed his mouth, a part of him knowing that Sharpay really would punch him if he argued. "And what is your pathetic problem with Gabby? She's _awesome_, did you not see her last night? She was on _fire_! Plus, cut the _Miss. Montez_ crap, we're not at work yet, you don't have to call her that."

"I'll call her what I want and if I want to call her Miss. Montez then so be it." Troy rolled his blue eyes, tipping the remains of his coffee down the sink. "And, my problem with her is none of your business so shove off."

"You totally slept with her."

"_No_!"

"You definitely did!"

"No, I _didn't_! Why are you so set on the fact that Miss. Montez and I had sex? Why?"

"I don't know." Sharpay shrugged, making her own coffee, "maybe because I, and everyone else for that matter, can clearly see the sexual tension running around the both of you and it's really, rather annoying listening to your...banter when really what you want to do is rip each other's clothes off and make _passionate_ love."

"You are-"

"Good morning." Gabriella greeted in a chirpy tone, exiting the spare room with a smile on her face. The same clothes she had worn to the night-club as she hadn't thought to bring any work clothes, not believing that she would spend the night at Sharpay's apartment. "How are you feeling, Shar?"

"Just fine and _fucking_ dandy." Sharpay replied sweetly, although Gabriella giggled as the sarcasm still managed to seep through. "You are very...happy, this morning." Sharpay eyed her carefully, sending the same look over to Troy who only glared in return. "You sleep well?"

"Yeah, slept like a baby." Gabriella replied, "actually, I don't remember getting there."

"Really." Sharpay raised an eyebrow, a sly smirk on her face as she turned to Troy. "Would _you_ know, Troy?"

"Yeah, I showed her where it was and she collapsed onto the bed...by _herself_." Troy emphasized the last bit, much to Gabriella's confusion, although, she brushed it off and walked over to Sharpay who was holding out a cup of coffee. "You were right though, Miss. Montez, you don't get hangovers."

"How is that fair!" Sharpay exclaimed, regretting her loud voice once more as a ringing went through her head. "_Ouch_...oh, Gabby, you need clothes." Sharpay realised, noticing Gabriella's attire but before she could move to her bedroom, Gabriella held up her hand and stopped her.

"No need. I'm just going to call for a taxi and go home before work." Gabriella replied, "but thanks anyway. Which reminds me, I need my phone...where's my- ah!" She picked up her small black clutch and got out her phone. "Jesus Christ." She muttered, her eyes widening slightly.

"What's up?" Sharpay asked upon seeing Gabriella's reaction.

"Um...just lots of missed calls..." Gabriella bit her lip, mumbling quietly, "from your brother."

"_Urgh_, not that thing." Sharpay spat, making a face, "tell me the truth here, Gabby, have you and my brother got a something going on?"

"What!" Gabriella laughed loudly. "No. _No_, of course not. We're best friends and room mates, nothing more, anyway, Ryan is definitely is not my type. I don't usually go for blond guys."

"No blondes eh," Sharpay smirked, again glancing at Troy who was running a hand through his own dark brown hair. "So, you like darker hair, like brown?"

"Yeah, the darker it is, the better is is." Gabriella replied casually, still staring at her phone. "You know, the typical thing to like, tall, dark and, of course, handsome. I know that it's all about the personality but looks definitely help." But before Sharpay could say anything, Gabriella added, "right, well I've got to go back and get changed out of these clothes. I'll see you at work and thank you so much, Shar for letting me stay here."

"Girl, no problem." Sharpay smiled warmly, "you are welcome here any time and you want to go out for lunch today? I know this really cute place."

"Sure."

"Great."

"Don't be late for work." Troy interjected, reading the newspaper and not bothering to look at Gabriella. "We have that photo shoot to attend to, if you're late, that's a strike and you don't want to be getting strikes, now do you." His patronizing tone made Gabriella glare at him before rolling her eyes.

"I won't Mr. Bolton," she opened the door, not even bothering to face him as she said, "don't worry."

Hailing down a taxi had been easy enough for the brunette considering the pretty, young girl wasn't hard to miss and before it was even seven-thirty, Gabriella had returned home, quietly shutting the door in case Ryan had yet to wake-up, although, a part of her knew he was going to be awake and she mentally groaned, closing her eyes as Ryan came rushing out his bedroom, dark circles under his eyes and a frustrated look on his face. "And where the fuck have _you_ been?"

"Ry, you know I went out last night. You saw me leave." Gabriella sighed, tucking a curl behind her ear, "anyway, you aren't my mother and I can certainly take care of myself."

"I don't care." Ryan shook his head, "I was worried sick about you, Gabriella." _Uh-oh_, she thought, _full name being used, choose your words carefully Montez_. It was true that Ryan only ever used her full name when he was angry at her but she was twenty-three years of age and she was fully capable of looking after herself. He knew she was going out with his sister and other people too so it wasn't like she was by herself. Thing was, this was what made Ryan slightly intolerable, the fact he watched over her like a hawk most of the time and made it difficult for Gabriella to have a good time; part of her was glad that he hadn't attended the nightclub with them because she knew that she wouldn't have had half of the amount of fun she did if Ryan was there. He was, most definitely, the protective older brother she never had.

"Ryan, I really don't have time for this." She replied quickly, chucking her bag and shoes on her chair. "I need to have a shower, get changed, make sure I have everything and get to work before eight-thirty and even that is pushing it. Mr. Jackass Bolton is still on a mission to get me fired so we'll talk about this later, yeah?"

"No! We need to sort this out _now_, Gabriella." Ryan demanded, however, Gabriella wasn't going to give in to him, she couldn't be late to work, it was only her second day and it was, in fact, quite a big one for her considering Troy was taking her to see how a professional photo shoot worked.

"Ryan, I _can't_." She emphasized, "I need to get ready otherwise you'll make me lose my job, are you really prepared to have that guilt on your shoulders?" She asked, already in the bathroom and shouting from the other side of the door. "Anyway, you're supposed to be my best friend, Ry, not my bloody mother."

"But, Gabriella-"

"Ryan, I'm turning on the shower now so I can't hear you." Gabriella shouted back, interrupting him and turning the shower on full blast, drowning out Ryan's pounds on the bathroom door. However, she did manage to catch a little bit of his sentence.

"Fine, I'll be over at Matte about one o'clock when it's my lunch-break to talk about this." Ryan called, "I'm going to work now."

She loved him, she really did but she couldn't refrain herself from rolling her eyes and giving a frustrated sigh as she rubbed the shampoo into her curly locks. There was absolutely no need for Ryan to come over to _Matte_, in fact, she would call him later on to explain that, probably adding in that Sharpay was going to be around and, of course, the twins didn't see eye to eye, or maybe it was just Sharpay who wouldn't tolerate Ryan in any way, shape or form but she didn't want to worry about him and his lecture of _how could you be so irresponsible_, right now, she just needed to worry about her _alone_ time with Troy, especially after the previous few hours, if he thought she had forgotten what happened after he had bought her home to Sharpay's, he was wrong because she did remember her actions, however embarrassing some of them had been.

~*~

"See how the photographer moves around to get his perfect shot?"

"Yes."

"And the way it looks like he's trying to chase the model? That makes a good model but it also makes a good photographer too, that is, if you can keep up with the model and get the good shots."

"Okay."

"I want this season's issue to be the best when it comes to the photography, so no pressure." He smirked, his muscular arms folded across his chest as he watched the photo shoot commence whilst Gabriella took a few notes here and there. "If you don't deliver-"

"I'll be fired, I get it, really you don't need to remind me every ten minutes, Mr. Bolton." Gabriella said through gritted teeth, becoming more annoyed with the fact that every few sentences seemed to come back to the fact that her job was in his hands. "And I put my up-most effort into every photo, it's not just for the magazine but it's _my_ name next to them and I want to make my name known in this business." Troy looked momentarily stunned with her retort but he quickly shook that off and gave her a curt nod.

"Right, that's good to know, Miss. Montez." Troy answered sharply. "Have you worked with models before though?"

"I can't say I have." Gabriella confirmed his thoughts, "I've only taken photos of my friends for the projects in college and the rest being still life but I'm sure I can handle them."

"Are you sure, Miss. Montez?" Troy asked in a monotone. "Models can be incredibly hard to control. They usually think very highly of themselves, especially once they land a shoot with _Matte_. They'll take advantage of the fact you are new."

"Like I said, I'm sure I can handle them." Gabriella replied in the same, stern, authoritative manner even though Troy was her boss and she really was pushing the line with every response. "After all, if I can cope with you, Mr. Bolton, those models will be a walk in the park."

"And that, _angel_, just caused you a strike." He smirked, taking a glance at Gabriella who appeared to have a death grip on her pen as soon as he replied, although, he supposed it wasn't because she had gotten strike, it was because he had called her angel, which he knew annoyed her to no end...when she was sober. "You keep walking on a very fine line. I'm getting the impression that you want to be fired."

"I do not want to be fired." Gabriella answered sharply but no sign of anger, "if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't have taken the job and if I didn't like it when I came here yesterday, I would have handed in my resignation, although, Mr. Bolton, one thing that you probably ought to know, it takes a lot more than a couple of incidents between us or anyone else for that matter to make me quit." She spoke so calmly that it made Troy's anger levels rise further, he was so used to women screaming and shouting at him for being an asshole that this sudden change was far from what he he was used to or even liked.

"You know, angel, I would prefer it if you treated me with respect." He spat. "I don't take it kindly when people try to overrule me, especially when it is young women who have absolutely no experience. If it was my choice, I wouldn't have given you the time of the day."

"You don't take it kindly, Mr. Bolton, or you _won't_ take it kindly?" She questioned, again with such composure and smoothness that he found himself clenching his fists together with anger whilst they were still folded over his chest. Gabriella Montez was definitely crossing his line. "I understand that with you being the boss, you have the right to be treated with respect."

"Then why don't you do so?"

"I do, sir." Gabriella replied politely, "of course I'll apologise for the incident last night, however, another three other of your employees were too in the same position as I was, at least, I managed to get to work on time but there is a difference between talking back with no respect and standing up for your rights, Mr. Bolton. If you think I'll be a subject to one of your bullying techniques, then I'm afraid you're going to be extremely disappointed."

"Bullying? I'm not bullying anyone, I'm the editor for this magazine, I need to show people authority, that's how you do well in this business, angel." Troy retorted angrily, however, he was trying his best not to show it. "Bullying is not in my nature."

"Really? Then why is it, sir, that you have already threatened me with taking away my job before it has even properly begun?" Gabriella asked innocently, however, her stern manner showing that she meant business. "I haven't even done anything wrong."

"And you are absolutely certain that you haven't done anything wrong?"

"Positive."

"Well, may I remind you that, although we look at the abilities of our employees for this magazine, we also look at their social skills." Troy replied, "it's what every company does, in fact, some even go as far as to look on employees social networking sites, after all, employees should not be giving a bad name to their work."

"I'm sorry but I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Bolton."

"The first time we met, angel." Troy answered firmly, looking straight ahead at the model who kept changing positions, waiting for that final shot to be called. "You didn't make a good impression."

"With all due respects, sir, you were the one that pushed me to the ground." Gabriella told him through gritted teeth, although, she was trying not to show how furious she was becoming with the blue-eyed male standing next to her. "It was only natural that I respond to the way I did."

"Angel, I did not push you to the ground." Troy replied calmly, glad that he was finally taking control of the conversation and it was her that was getting worked up. "I accidentally knocked into you but, unfortunately for you, you fell. It was completely unintentional."

"You didn't even _attempt_ to help me up." Gabriella protested, her voice rising slightly, her whole body turned to face Troy, however, he was still in the same stance as he had been since they had begun to watch the photo shoot. "If you were a gentleman, you would have." She then muttered under her breath, although Troy caught it, "if you were anyone else, you would have."

"I can't deny that I probably should have done something to get you back on your feet." Troy shrugged, "but then again, you did begin to shout profanities towards me. Surely you must understand that when someone is talking unkindly of you, you don't usually offer your services in their time of need." He told her, "even so, angel, you were the one that wouldn't let me see if you were okay."

"I was not shouting profanities to you, Mr. Bolton." Gabriella argued, "and like I said then, you would have helped me gather my belongings which came out of my bag rather than just standing there if you were really bothered."

"Angel, angel, angel," Troy shook his head with amusement in his voice, "how long have you been in New York?"

"About four or five years now." She answered stiffly.

"Then, shouldn't you know that most people just see that as an ordinary day?" Troy chuckled and Gabriella had the sense that it was pointed at her rather than with her. "This isn't Albuquerque, sweetheart, New York is completely different."

"I know that." She snapped.

"New York is all about the hustle and bustle. No one stops for no one unless you know them." Troy responded, "you're lucky that I came back, angel."

"Lucky!" Gabriella exclaimed in confusion before adding sourly, "clearly you and I have different opinions on what is lucky and what's not, Mr. Bolton." He gave another hearty chuckle, although Gabriella noticed it wasn't really anything, it was just a laugh, however stupid it may have sounded, to Gabriella, there was no life in his laugh. It was as if he had no soul to allow him to laugh but before she could ponder any further, his phone began to ring and they were both snapped out of the bubble in which they had created whilst they're heated discussion had continued.

"Sharpay?" Troy questioned, narrowing his eyes as if he couldn't understand. "Whoa, why don't you slow down because I can't understand a single, fucking thing that you are saying...I can't stop him, is he destroying anything? Exact- wait, _what_? _You're_ destroying something. My _office_, Sharpay Evans, get your ass out of there." He stood up straighter, his eyes turning a shade darker and Gabriella felt her swallow harshly to get rid of the lump -one that she didn't even realise was there before- as she stared at him. "Sharpay, I'm serious, oh for Christ's sake!" He shouted before slamming his phone shut and shoving it in his pocket.

"What's happened?" Gabriella questioned quickly, "is Sharpay okay?"

"No and it's your fault, thank you very much Miss. Montez." He answered coldly, grabbing her forearm and pulling her to the exit, ignoring how the assistant of the shoot was calling after them. "Thanks to you, my office is being trashed."

"What? How is that my fault, I'm here with you!" Gabriella protested.

"Yes, but you invited Sharpay's brother!" He snapped. "And when those two mix, it's never good news so I suggest you get your ass into that car or I'll kick you in it instead, which would you prefer, Miss. Montez?" Gabriella gulped again and clambered into the car without another word in fear of what Troy might do to her. Once they were both seated in the car, Troy barked at the driver to rush through red lights before growling, "I swear to God, if she's smashed my computer, I will kill you, angel, there is absolutely no doubt about it."

Okay, _now_ she was scared.


	4. Chapter 4

**Behind His Eyes **

_Summary: They say the eyes are the windows to the soul but all anyone could see was a blank, icy cold stare back at them. Why is it that Gabriella Montez could find something more when no one else did? Even if she does hate working for that person that is so emotionless. _

_A.N. Hello all! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I loved them and sorry that this is out late, my computer just doesn't work properly. It cuts out and drives me crazy so I'm sorry about that. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I enjoyed writing it. Keep the reviews coming because they're fabulous. Love you all! _

_Read, enjoy, review!!!_

**Chapter 4 ~ Bad Day**

"Why the fuck do you always have to ruin my day!" The blonde screamed furiously, kicking over the plant pot nearest her which was located next to Troy's desk. Sharpay Evans was livid, there could be no doubt about it with her eyes in slits and her pink lips were curled into a snarl. Every now and then she would look at Ryan and growl at him but she preferred not to look in his direction because it made her even more angry than she already was. "I told you that I never wanted to see you again! You stupid, fucking _asshole_!"

"Look, I'm only here to see, Gabriella, I swear." Ryan answered meekly, holding his hands up in defense whilst he stood helplessly in the corner of Troy's room, his hazel eyes the size of basketballs with fear. "I never meant to see you, Sharpay. You know I would never do this purposely."

"Then you shouldn't have ever fucking stepped into this building then, should you?" She shouted back angrily. "In fact, you shouldn't have even stepped onto this block, you shouldn't be anywhere _near_ this block you moron!" She swept a few papers off Troy's desk, ignoring Taylor's groans and Chad's chuckles before letting out a long, loud and frustrated scream. "I hate you!"

"Please, Shar, I don't think-"

"Don't you fucking dare call me Shar!" She raised her eyes to Ryan and narrowed them further as if he were her prey before chucking a book in Ryan's direction, which, narrowly missed his head but only because he bent down in time. "Only my close friends and family are allowed to call me that and you aren't in either of those categories. You aren't in any of my categories! You fucking dick! I hate you, I hate you, I _hate_ you!

"Sharpay, I don't want to cause any trouble." Ryan pleaded, jumping out the way as Sharpay lobbed another heavy book towards him, this time, only just missing his left shoulder. "Please, I just want to talk to Gabriella. I swear, that is the only reason I'm here, I'm not here to piss you off, I promise."

"That's the thing, Ryan dearest!" She spat, sarcasm dripping off her words. "You aren't annoying me, you are making me so angry that I want to rip your head off and use it as a football!" Ryan gulped loudly, watching his sister's eyes glint with fury, her hands balled together in tight fists and her, he swore, her snarl could be heard from the bottom floor. "Fuck. Off!"

"I need to talk to Gabriella."

"Just fuck off, Ryan! You're not wanted here!" Sharpay shrieked, taking off her pink stiletto's, one in each of her hands, making Ryan start backing up towards the door, however, due to the commotion, other employees had come to inspect it, blocking Ryan's only chance of escape, much to his dismay. "Why? Why do you have to follow me everywhere? I hate you, you stupid son-of-a-bitch! You're always fucking around when I just want you to leave. Me. _Alone_! I don't care if you came to see Gabriella! You live with her, for Christ's sake, you could have waited! You knew I worked here!"

Sharpay decided against throwing her shoes for a moment but, instead, picked up Troy's laptop, "Sharpay...I don't think that's a very good idea." Ryan warned but Sharpay didn't listen, raising it above her head and ready to aim.

"What the hell is going on here! Sharpay, put that _down_!" Troy roared, pushing passed everyone, shouting at them to get back to their work -which they did immediately in fear of what Troy would do if they disobeyed him- whilst dragging Gabriella behind him by her forearm, like he had done when he pulled her into the car. However, she was struggling immensely to keep up considering Troy was taking large strides and she was tottering along in her black, high heels. "Sharpay, look what you've done to my office!"

"It's not my fault!" Sharpay argued, "it's this stupid piece-of-shit's fault! You should be blaming _him_, not _me_. He's the one that caused all of this!" This time, she threw her shoe towards Ryan who dodged it again, _just_, and it ripped through a sketch of the front cover of the next edition of Matte.

"_Sharpay_!" Troy bellowed, his icy blue eyes darkened and narrowed into a cold glare at the blonde who was half between breaking down into tears and lunging out at Ryan, throttling him with her bare hands. "Put your shoes back on! You will not break anymore of my things!"

"But-" She attempted but Troy cut her off sharply.

"No! You come in here, trash my office, completely disrupt everyone else around you!" He yelled, his teeth clenching together, so tightly that Gabriella was sure they were about to shatter, at any moment, in his mouth. "You will stop this immature behaviour. Taylor, take Sharpay to her office where she'll collect her things."

"Troy Bolton, are you fucking trying to _fire_ me?" Sharpay shrieked loudly, her hands planted firmly on her hips and a glare just as harsh and cold as Troy's. "Because if you are-"

"I'm not, Sharpay." Troy closed his eyes and breathing deeply. "I'm not going to fire you but I am giving you the rest of the day off. You need to cool down and I'm not having you around here whilst you are in this state." Sharpay tried holding her ground for a few seconds before giving a frustrated scream and walking out the door, not forgetting to grab her shoe on the way out as Taylor followed her. "And as for _you_." He pointed over at Ryan who was sheepishly standing in the corner of his room, a worried expression on his features and terror in his eyes as Troy strided over to him. "Who the _fuck_ do you think you are? Coming into _my_ office, interrupting _my_ staff, causing one of _my_ employees to throw _my_ belongings at you!"

"I can assure you Mr. Bolton that I never intended on this happening." Ryan gulped fearfully. "I was looking for Gabriella, you see and well, Sharpay caught sight of me and began to scream at me. I know we don't exactly get along but I never thought this would happen." He referred to the many books scattered around the room, the papers that had once been on his desk that were now on the floor, either, creased or ripped in some way and the flower pots that were now on their sides with the black dirt spread on the cream carpet. "I promise?"

"I will not be taking your word, Mr. Evans." Troy scowled, sneering at him and towering above Ryan who seemed to be cowering away. "You are very lucky that I haven't called security on your ass because I think you'll find this is destruction of _Matte_ property, my property, Mr. Evans."

"I'm really sorry, I-"

"But, I will most definitely call security if you don't leave this building within the next two minutes."

"Look, this is all one big misunderstanding, this-" Ryan tried defending himself but Troy interrupted with his loud, booming voice, causing Ryan and Gabriella to jump with fright.

"Out of my office, _now_!" Troy yelled furiously, snarling at the same time, his arm pointed in the direction of the door. Nervously, Gabriella watched and was sure that the vein in Troy's neck was about to explode at any moment. "I never want to see you in my building again, do you hear me? Trespass one more time and I'll make sure the police are the ones to escort you out in _handcuffs_!"

The anger in Troy's tone managed to place fear in the bottom of Gabriella's stomach but that was nothing compared to Ryan's reaction. He was petrified. Troy's bellows had completely terrified him, making his complexion, almost, totally white. "_Out_!"

That was all it took for the blonde male to hurry out of Troy's office, however, he lifted his eyes just enough to catch Gabriella's gaze, sending her the message saying, _we still need to talk_. Of course, Gabriella rolled her eyes, increasingly becoming annoyed with him as he had caused all this trouble and yet still had the nerve to pester her about something that was completely unnecessary. Once Ryan had left the office, Gabriella watching him enter the lift before attempting to leave herself but Troy wasn't finished with her and called her back in a harsh manner. His eyes were closed and his hand was rubbing his forehead, she guessed that he was on the verge of a migraine.

"Oh no, Miss. Montez, don't think you have gotten out of this that easily." He informed her, walking round the table and collapsing into his leather chair, facing her with, now, dark blue eyes. "As you were the one that caused this mess-"

"What? How did-"

"I have already told you, Miss. Montez that you invited that _boy_ here." Troy spat, his teeth clenched together again. "Do not interrupt me either, Miss. Montez. As I was saying, considering you were the one that caused this mess by inviting him here, you will clean it up for me."

"Don't you have cleaners to do that for you, sir?" Gabriella asked, "because I have a lot to write up. For the magazine."

"I don't care. You can do that after you clean up my office, now." Troy smirked, moving his laptop back into place before lifting his legs up onto the table, one ankle on top of the other. "I don't know why you're still standing there. If you go to my assistant, she'll call for the cleaners to bring up their products, in the mean time, I would start putting my books on my shelf."

"But-"

"I'm losing patience with you, Miss. Montez," Troy warned casually, not even bothering to look up from his emails, "and I'm losing patience fast, now, hurry up or I will fire you."

"Are you going to use that comment every time something happens that you don't like?"

"No." Troy sighed, again in a laid back manner, "because if this continues to happen then you won't be here for me to say that to you. They aren't empty threats, Miss. Montez, I don't _give_ empty threats, so, you better start impressing me, otherwise, you'll be looking for another job and with our countries current financial situation, you'll be out of the job for quite a while."

"Mr. Bolton, we're out of recession."

"That's what they say," Troy answered, his eyes still glued to the screen, "but it'll take another few months before everything is completely restored back to it's original state."

"Sir, I-"

"_Now_, Miss. Montez."

"Fine." Gabriella huffed, dumping her papers on the spare chair opposite Troy's desk before walking out and getting his assistant to retrieve the cleaning products for her and she waited outside his office, not wanting to be anywhere near him at that moment in time, for the cleaners to bring up everything that she needed.

"Stupid Bolton." She muttered coldly under her breath as he was still in the room in the same, laid back position, occasionally lifting his eyes to smirk as she scrubbed at his carpet. "Stupid asshole for making me clean his stupid carpet."

"You know, angel," clearly, Troy had had the chance to calm down slightly and gone back to one of his new favourite tasks, annoying Gabriella. "I can hear you."

"Really, sir?" Gabriella answered in an unimpressed tone, to be quite honest, she couldn't care less by this point. Her knees were hurting since she had been scrubbing at the patch of dirt for a while now and it didn't appear to making any difference, in fact, Gabriella swore it was getting worse. Her back was aching from her she had been arched over for so long and the boredom of being silent and cleaning was getting to her as she found herself fighting to stay awake.

"Yes." Troy grinned. "Be careful, angel, you've already lost two strikes today, don't make it a third because we know what will happen."

"Yes, sir." Gabriella replied in a monotone before pausing and sitting up, "hang on, I only lost one strike. You never said two! Where has that second one suddenly come from?"

"Oh, that would be for causing my office to be trashed." He answered lightly. "Word of advice, angel, I would keep your personal life at home. Actually, lets make that an order. No more bringing boyfriends into the work place, got it?"

"He's _not_ my boyfriend." Gabriella told him through gritted teeth. "Ryan in my roommate. That is all. You heard me this morning, Mr. Bolton when I answered Sharpay's question."

"Little defensive aren't we, Miss. Montez." Troy smirked and Gabriella closed her eyes, holding back the urge to scream with pure frustration and, of course, the urge to punch Troy in the face. Now that was something, Gabriella would love to see. "Time is ticking, angel. Remember, you have to write your message for the magazine, I'll be needing that for tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow_!"

"Yes, tomorrow, as in Wednesday." Troy said with a patronizing manner. "Will that be a problem, angel?"

"No." Gabriella inhaled sharply, "of course it won't. I'll get it to you bright and early then, sir."

"Good, I'll be expecting it then. Don't let me down."

~*~

After another two gruelling hours, where Gabriella wanted to throw herself off a cliff just to get away from Troy and his irritating comments, Gabriella walked tiredly into Taylor's office, rubbing her temples as a headache had begun forming which was dampening Gabriella's mood even further.

"Troy still being tough on you?" Taylor asked, her eyebrows raised and a smirk played on her full, glossy lips. "Don't worry," she answered when Gabriella nodded wearily. "It'll pass, it's just because you're new."

"I'm not so sure about that." Gabriella whined, "he _hates_ me, I know he does and, to be honest, I couldn't care less, it's just he's taken pleasure in torturing me, especially today. I mean, it was _his_ fault that I was knocked to the ground, why can't he just admit that?"

"One thing you need to learn about, Troy," Taylor informed her, handing Gabriella a bottle of water and some paracetamol which the brunette took graciously, "Troy _never_ admits when he's wrong, even when he knows it. He's very clever and knows how to get around those things. I hardly ever hear Troy say sorry. It's completely unheard of."

"I've noticed." Gabriella sighed heavily. "How is Sharpay by the way? I hope she's not too angry at me."

"She'll be absolutely fine and she's definitely not angry at you – just Ryan." Taylor smiled warmly, sitting on the edge of her desk. "It's just the hangover, she's never been good after a heavy night out and, from what I hear, it was a _very_ heavy night out." Gabriella laughed faintly.

"You could say that, yeah."

"By tomorrow, she'll be acting as if today never happened." Taylor replied softly. "And, anyway, Sharpay always likes a good drama, especially when she's in it. She's most definitely a drama queen but that's what we all love about her...well, most of us, clearly Chad can't stand her but, we can't have everything, right?" She shrugged, almost sadly and Gabriella put it down to the fact that her best friend could never get along with her boyfriend.

"How long have you and Chad been together?"

"About seven years now." Taylor answered casually and Gabriella's eyes widened. "Yeah, I know, it's been a long time. We started dating in high school when I was about seventeen."

"Oh, wow, congratulations." Gabriella grinned, "that's adorable."

"Thanks." Taylor beamed proudly, "It's an achievement I guess and I'll admit, he can be an idiot at the best of times but I love him all the same." Gabriella laughed out loud and knew that the two were sure to get along. Sharpay was loud, _extravagant_ and boisterous whilst Taylor was quieter, calmer and more sensible however she could never be boring, Gabriella had the feeling that they balanced each other out which was what made them such good friends and could tell she was going to fit in fine. "So, how is the job going so far?"

"It's good, I'm really enjoying it." Gabriella nodded before scrunching up her nose, "well, expect for Mr. Bolton. He's a dick but I'll just have to put up for him until he gets bored of me."

"Oh, honey, by the looks of things, he's not going to get bored of you _that_ quickly." Taylor smirked, much to Gabriella's confusion and dismay. "Besides, once you're stuck with Sharpay and I, you're stuck with him too. Although, we'll put him in his place if he does anything, don't you worry."

"Thanks, I seriously don't get what his problem is." Gabriella sighed, "he's just so angry all the time. God, and his mood changes so quickly." She squeaked. "I have a question for you and I'm begging you that you answer the truth here."

"Go on."

"Is, Mr. Bolton _bipolar_?" Gabriella asked in all seriousness but Taylor just burst out into laughter.

"Bipolar? No, of course he's not." Taylor answered with amusement. "I get it that he can be really angry sometimes and to some, well _most_, he can be pretty cold towards them and his mood can vary very quickly but no, he is definitely _not_ bipolar."

"Are there reasons behind his anger?" Gabriella questioned curiously and the smile was immediately wiped from Taylor's features, instead, laid an awkward one instead. "Sharpay mentioned something about his father, is that why?"

"There is a reason, yes, but I'm sorry, I'm not at liability to tell you that." Taylor admitted, "if I was allowed, I would but really, it is very much up to Troy to do that. It's simply not-"

"Your place to tell." Gabriella finished for her and smiled warmly, understanding, "don't worry, I won't force it out of you. Least I know it's not just me that gets him so worked up. I have never, in my entire life, met anyone who hates me as much as Mr. Bolton does."

"Honey, I don't think he hates you." Taylor replied, the playful smirk returning, "I think he just loves to annoy the crap out of you, in return, you end up annoying him back. It's very unusual for people to back chat to Troy though, most people are scared of him. You are a _revelation_! Of course, inviting Ryan here was never going to end well."

"Oh, I didn't invite Ryan." Gabriella corrected. "Please don't think I did. I already know about Sharpay and Ryan, I know how much she can't stand him, which I am increasingly becoming to understand why." She finished bitterly. "He came here _uninvited_ because I didn't speak to him this morning."

"What? That was the reason behind all this?"

"Well, as you probably already know, I stayed at Sharpay's last night. It was probably the most sensible idea considering the state I was in." Taylor nodded in agreement. "I didn't think to call Ryan, besides it was so early in the morning, I assumed he would have been asleep. When I came home at about seven-ish, he went mental on me, saying we needed to talk. He was acting like my mother not my best friend. I even text him once I was at work saying that he shouldn't come over and that I was busy but he didn't listen." She scowled. "I'm so going to kill him when I get home."

"Okay, so I've always thought that Sharpay was being too dramatic when she described Ryan but that just makes perfect sense."

"I'm guessing you know why they hate each other so much?"

"Yes, Sharpay came running to my house as soon as it happened."

"I would really love to hear Sharpay's story." Gabriella replied. "Sometimes, I'm sure, Ryan skips parts as if he did something but doesn't want to confess to it...it appears that Sharpay's not the only drama queen in the family."

"To be totally honest with you, Gabby," Taylor sighed, "I can't sympathize with him, despite him being your best friend. He was in the wrong, although, Sharpay did go a little overboard in the aftermath but still...maybe you _should_ hear Sharpay's side of the story. Ryan never could tell the full thing in case people didn't like him. He was exactly the same throughout high school, I doubt he's changed now."

"Hmm, maybe I should." Gabriella agreed, "if I-"

"Sorry, Gabriella," the two women turned around to see Jason standing sheepishly at her door. "Mr. Bolton wants you in his office. He said it's urgent."

"_Urgh_! Can't he leave me alone!" Gabriella exclaimed, pulling at her hair before taking in a deep breath and turning to Taylor. "Sorry, I'll speak to you later?"

"Of course, I'll just be sitting here with my completed work, eating biscuits and watching films, you know relaxing, whilst you get tortured by Troy some more." She giggled and Gabriella couldn't help but let the laugh escape her. "See you later, Gabs."

"Bye, Tay."

~*~

"I can't believe you, Ryan, I really can't!" Gabriella spat furiously at the blonde. As soon as she had returned that evening, Ryan had just come home from work himself, she immediately blew up on him. "Do you know how much _shit_ I was put in after you left? Not to mention the state Sharpay was in!"

"Gabriella, we needed to talk." Ryan stated stubbornly, folding his arms across his chest. "And, who cares about Sharpay, she's always been like this."

"No, we fucking, didn't, Ryan and don't you _dare_ say that about Shar. She's my friend too, Ryan, I won't let you say that about her." Gabriella hissed. "It's a simple thing to get into your head anyway! I went out, I got drunk, I stayed at Sharpay's. You knew I was going out, you knew I was with people and I even _mentioned_ that Sharpay said I could stay round if I wanted."

"But, you didn't call me to make that official." Ryan pointed out and argued his case. "You could have been lying in a ditch for all I knew."

"Right, so how many ditches can you find in New York?" Gabriella threw her arms up in the air dramatically, "and do you honestly believe Sharpay would have left me in my state? Mr. Bolton hates me and he was the one that took us home. He was sober." She protested. "And when did I suddenly need to phone home? You are _not_. My. Mother, Ryan. Stop acting as if you are."

"I was worried."

"There was no fucking need and you know that." Gabriella poked his chest. "Not only did you cause Mr. Bolton to take another strike off me, you upset Sharpay so she couldn't work and you _embarrassed_ me. I'm new, Ryan, I don't need that kind of reputation!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you." Ryan answered apologetically. "I just thought we should talk, that's all."

"Why do you never let me go out?" Gabriella shouted with frustration. "You _always_ do this! _Always_! I'm sick of my best friend treating me like a child! That's not the way it works, Ryan. You're supposed to go out with me. Laugh when I get myself in that kind of mess. You're the one who's supposed to _put_ me in that mess."

"Yeah? Well maybe I don't want the status of being your best friend, Gabriella!" Ryan shouted angrily. "Maybe that just doesn't fit with us! In fact, I know that doesn't fit with us, I've known since the day I met you!"

"Ryan, what the fuck are you talking about?" Gabriella screamed in response, the confusion overwhelming her. "Are you suddenly saying you don't want to be friends anymore? Is that it? You've gotten bored with me? Or is this really to do with Sharpay?"

"Will you stop bringing my sister into _everything_! She's not involved in this."

"But she is because I went out with _her_, I got drunk with _her_, I stayed at _her_ house." Gabriella argued, "so yeah, yeah this does involve her Ryan. Is this because you're jealous? That I'm friends with you _and_ Sharpay? Because, if you ask me, Ryan, that's pretty pathetic."

"It's not about, Sharpay!" Ryan bellowed furiously. "And I'm not bloody jealous of your friendship with her! Why would I be?"

"Oh, I don't know," Gabriella pondered sarcastically before answering bitterly. "Maybe because you screwed up part of her life, you went all dramatic and moved out. Didn't see her for years and every encounter you've had with her has gone horribly wrong!"

"Right, so you don't believe my story anymore?" Ryan asked, "you're taking hers even though you've known her for, like, two _minutes_."

"Well, least Sharpay doesn't treat me like a fucking _baby_, Ryan!" Gabriella exclaimed, "I still can't believe you didn't listen to me and proceeded to come to my work after I pacifically told you not to! You stupid, stupid idiot! Why is it that you don't like it when I go out? Why can't I be a normal twenty-year-old? Why do you insist on treating me like a kid!"

"I don't want to treat you like a kid, Gabriella!" Ryan exclaimed, "honestly, I don't!"

"Then why do you?"

"Because, I want to protect you!" He grabbed her forearms. "That's what I'm trying to do, Gabby. After everything you went through in your past, I want to be your protector and I hate you going out because I can't see where you are and I can't see what some man is doing to you!"

"Ryan, I get it, what happened to me makes it worse but I've got to start living my own life!" Gabriella exclaimed, aware that Ryan's hands were gripping her tightly and her heart pounded with fear in her chest as images flashed up in mind. "I can't let him run my life forever! What makes it worse, Ryan, is that I need to find a man to do that for me. How the hell am I meant to get a boyfriend, have a _relationship_ if you don't let me? And whenever I do find someone, you fucking scare them away!"

"Because they're not right for you!" Ryan roared in her face.

"Then who _is_ right for me?" Gabriella screamed, her teeth clenched together with fury and to stop her wincing from Ryan's loud shouts in her face, something she had never liked but his answer was different, his tone was soft and almost inaudible. And his answer was far from what Gabriella expected.

"Me."

~*~

"Oh, God, _Troy_!" The brunette woman, who's name Troy couldn't remember to save his life, moaned from under him as he pounded into her. "This feels so good, don't stop!" She screamed, her hands gripping the bedsheets around her, her hips moving wildly to try and keep up with the Adonis above her. "Troy! _Troy_! Baby!"

"Stop. Talking." He growled in her ear, becoming impatient and increasingly annoyed with her high-pitched, needy toned, voice, however, she didn't take it as an insult, instead she took it as a sign of affection.

"Yeah, it makes it so much more intimate that way, I know, baby, I'll stop." She panted, breathlessly, closing her eyes and biting her lip to prevent her from screaming his name once more but Troy was finding her more and more irritating. She was pretty, he would give her that, with a curvaceous body and long legs that seemed to go on for miles but she wouldn't stop talking and Troy preferred those who knew exactly what was going to happen to them at the end rather than thinking this would lead to a relationship, he hated those girls, he could not stand them.

As Troy continued to pound into her, his pace quickening as he felt his climax approaching, he no longer minded her moans, one because he couldn't here her voice and two because he began picturing someone else, a different brunette. The way her wavy hair framed her face and her body curved in the right places. He imagined it was _her_ underneath him, it was _her_ screaming his name and it was _her_ he was pushing into because he wanted to and he wanted to hear her cry out his name in absolute ecstasy because she liked it, because she wanted him. Her lips would be swollen from the passionate, heated kisses and she would be just as breathless as he would be.

Troy felt the girl shiver with delight as she came, her walls tightening around his member and Troy soon came after her, releasing himself into the condom before collapsing onto the girl and, as if he didn't know what he was doing, he subconsciously whispered, "angel."


End file.
